Love In the Hurt Locker
by KJ-MonkeyJunkie3
Summary: After JJ and Will's relationship goes bust, Prentiss steps in to help him get his life together.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Okay, I should just make this clear from the start: I am a huge fan of Will and JJ. I almost cried when they got married, and Hit/Run is rapidly becoming one of my favorite episodes ever. I also love Henry—I think he's adorable and that they're a beautiful little family. And I will maintain to my dying day that Morgan and Prentiss would be a perfect couple who would make beautiful babies. (And yes, the initial pairing in my mind was Prentiss and Hotch, but he's happily with Beth, and they're adorable.) Obviously, I (and I can guarantee that most of you out there do it too) am a little bit too proficient at seeing things that might be misconstrued as couple-hood. For instance, every time I watch the episode where JJ tells the team she's pregnant, I get a very strong "Love That Was/Could Have Been" vibe from JJ and Hotch when he's like, "You could have told me." But anyways, I was curious about Will and Prentiss because remember when Prentiss was trying to get JJ to admit that she and Will were a couple and she was like, "Well, at least we something fun to look at" or whatever? And then there was a little span of time where I was really mad at JJ cuz I didn't think she was treating Will as well as he deserves to be treated, because yes, I love him, and I thought they might break up._

_Well anyways, I was reading like, all 3 of the Will/Prentiss stories out there and didn't really think they were fair to either of the characters. Will is truly a great guy—really. And Prentiss is freaking awesome, and portraying them as selfish, miserable, lying backstabbers just didn't sit too well with me. And I got to thinking about what circumstances would make a romance between the two of them believable. And this is what I came up with. It's AU but assume that everything that's happened previous to the beginning of the story (which is not too long after 7x10—_The Bittersweet Science) _is canon. I will do my darndest to keep the characters real, but let me know if I'm straying too far. Also, there may be some snippets of stuff from the show—Prentiss' house shopping escapades and the Will/bomb thing are what comes to mind at the moment. Plus plus also also, I'm really gonna try hard not to make anyone the "villain" in this story—relationships don't work out sometimes, and making it all one person's fault (in a relationship like Will and JJ's) doesn't solve anything. _

_Finally, I promise that the rest of my notes will NOT be this long. I just wanted to explain my thought process behind writing this, because I'm not sure how I feel about it and I'm super nervous about putting it up. And if y'all don't like it, I won't even finish it. So there's that. And without further ado… Here. We. Go._

* * *

One

Will lets out a frustrated snarl as he hangs up the phone and throws it angrily onto the bed. JJ isn't coming home tonight, like she'd said when she left three nights ago. What a surprise. The case isn't going as well as they'd hoped. They've got a lead, but it's gonna take some time to follow it up. Give Henry a kiss for her and don't forget to read him his story. She'll get home as soon as she can. He's heard it all a million times, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating whenever he hears it again. He takes a few deep breaths, then runs a hand through his hair and heads down the steps. "Hey, buddy. Mamma's not comin' home tonight, but what do you say we go and get some dinner? You want Mickey D's?"

"Chicken Nuggets?" Henry asks, looking up from the blocks he's evidently been spreading all around the living room floor in the five minutes Will was on the phone.

"Sure, buddy. You can get Chicken Nuggets," Will scoops Henry up and carries him to the door, where he quickly helps the little boy shrug on a jacket and his favorite Batman tennis shoes. They head out the door and out to the car. Will straps Henry into his car seat and they drive to the nearest McDonald's, where Will rattles off their order—a four-piece Chicken McNugget Happy Meal with Barbeque Sauce, milk and apple slices instead of fries for Henry, and a Big Mac meal for him with a Large Coke and fries. Will hates McDonald's, but Chicken McNuggets are Henry's favorite and Will isn't much of a cook. Ever since JJ rejoined the BAU, there's been a lot of McDonald's around the Jareau-LaMontagne household. That, however, is the least of Will's worries.

* * *

"That sounds great, Penelope. Let me talk to Will and let him know."

"You haven't been home in a week, JJ. Are you sure you don't wanna spend it with your family?" Prentiss asks, slinging her purse over her shoulder as she joins the two blondes, as well as Morgan and Reid on their way out to the elevator bay.

"It's just dinner and a few drinks, Emily," JJ replies, checking her watch. "Henry's already in bed by now and Will'll still be up when I get home."

"Alright. I just thought that if I had someone to get home to besides a cat who doesn't actually give a rat's if I'm home or not, that's where I'd be," Prentiss sighs wistfully.

"If you want, I'll go to your apartment and wait for you there, Princess," Morgan smirks.

Prentiss cocks an eyebrow. "Yeah, much as I'd love to give you access to my apartment and watch Sergio scratch your eyes out, I'm gonna have to pass. So where are we going?"

"How about that karaoke bar we went to last month?" Garcia suggests.

Reid frowns. "Guys, I'd really rather not go back there…"

JJ laughs. "That's right… you had an incident, didn't you?" The rest of the team bursts into laughter at the memory of the guy who'd tried to pick Reid up with an ear-bleedingly painful rendition of "Pour Some Sugar on Me."

Reid shudders. "Do I really look gay, guys? Don't answer that, Morgan."

Morgan chuckles, and Garcia replies. "No, you don't. It's just that you're so adorable that everyone wants to take you home with them, stud."

"Yeah, this is the guy who gets the sexy bartender to hit on _him_," Morgan slings an arm around Reid's shoulder and gives him a shoulder-dislocating slap on the back.

"Okay, no karaoke. How about Indian food?" Reid changes the subject, shifting uncomfortably as they step into the elevator.

"No, God. We go for Indian food all the time," Garcia moans.

"Sushi, then?" Prentiss proposes after a moment's contemplation.

"Ooh, yeah. I could totally go for some _uni_ right now," Garcia grins and rubs her hands together.

Reid shrugs. "That actually doesn't sound too bad."

"Sushi it is," JJ agrees and pulls out her phone as the elevator doors ding open and they spill out into the lobby. "Hey, Will. Listen, we just got in and we're gonna go to dinner. Have you eaten yet, or do you want me to bring something home for you? Sushi. Yeah. Okay. No, I know, but I could pick something else up after we eat. I know. I will. Okay. Okay. Yeah. Henry's asleep? Good. Okay, I'll see you when I get home. Love you too. Bye." She hangs up and gets into her car.

They all arrive at a nearby sushi restaurant ten minutes later and are seated immediately. Garcia wastes no time. "So, Reid, are you still in touch with the aforementioned bartender?"

Reid casts an accusatory glance at Morgan, who shrugs with a wicked grin. "She tricked it outta me. So are you?"

"What was her name, anyhow?" Prentiss finishes writing down her collective sushi order and slides the paper across to Reid with a smirk.

Reid takes the paper and snaps, "Austin. Her name is Austin."

"That's cute," Garcia takes a sip of her water and motions to the waiter that they're ready to order. "Spencer and Austin. Awww. Please tell me you're still in touch with her."

Reid scowls. "We talk every once in a while."

"How often is every once in a while?" JJ asks, cocking an eyebrow. "Like, when's the last time you talked to her?"

Reid scratches at the back of his head. "I don't… remember, exactly…"

"Bullshit, Pretty Boy," Morgan smacks his hand on the table. "You've got an eidetic memory. There's no way you don't remember to the minute how long it's been since you talked to her."

Just then the waiter appears, and the five of them place their drink and dinner orders, then return to staring at Reid expectantly. After a long, uncomfortable pause, Reid finally stammers, "I think it… must have been… maybe… Thursday… I think?"

"Thursday… as in… yesterday?" Prentiss raises her eyebrows suggestively.

"Is today Friday?" Reid grimaces, rubbing his neck. "Well, it could have been… Wednesday."

"Oh, two days ago. That's better," JJ rolls her eyes with a grin. "That's practically an eternity."

Garcia begins drumming her fingers on the table. "And how long was it before that?"

Reid squints up at the ceiling. "See, I'm not actually sure—"

"Would you quit it with that?" Morgan smacks him upside the head.

"Ow! He just hit me!" Reid protests, rubbing his head gingerly.

"Well, he's just trying to jog your memory," JJ reasons. "Don't do anything to provoke him and he won't do it again. So how long was it?"

"I don't know, about a week?" Reid throws his hands up in the air in defeat. "It was a week. We talk on a pretty much weekly basis, alright? Will you leave me alone now?"

"Not a chance, Pretty Boy," Morgan beams, leaning forward. The waiter delivers their food, and as they dig into the food, he asks, "So you talk every week. She probably flirts. You probably don't. What's going on there?"

Reid shakes his head, and as he struggles to pick up a piece of teriyaki chicken with his chopsticks, he replies, "There's no flirting. It's just talking. We're friends. I can have friends outside of the team!"

JJ pats his arm sympathetically. "Of course you can, Spence. Now go ahead and eat." Reid returns to his chicken, and the rest of the group exchanges knowing glances.

It's after eleven when JJ lets herself in to the house that she, Will and Henry share. She runs a tired hand through her hair and hangs her coat up by the door. As she heads for the stairs, she notices Will sleeping in his favorite patriarch chair. He stirs and his eyes flutter open. He notices her standing by the door and smiles sleepily. "Welcome home, Jen." He gets slowly to his feet and moves over to where she's standing, then slips his arms around her and lightly kisses her temple. "I missed you."

She sighs. "Missed you, too." When his hands slide down around her waist to pull her closer, she slips out of his embrace. "Sorry. It's just that I'm really exhausted, and it looks like you are, too. And we both have work tomorrow, and I haven't seen Henry yet. So why don't we just call it a night?"

She heads up the stairs, leaving Will standing alone at the foot of the stairs. He lets out his breath in a whoosh and runs a hand through his hair before trudging up the stairs behind her.

* * *

_So. Your thoughts?_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello, everyone! Glad to see that y'all liked the first chapter! Here's the next one, and I promise another chapter tomorrow—yes, two days in a row (which might not ever happen again haha). Also, a note about the title-The Hurt Locker, aside from being an awesome movie, is a place of immense pain-usually emotional, and in the context of the movie, what EODs call where they go if they're killed disarming a bomb. I felt like it worked as a title for this story because often at the end of a relationship, especially a long one, you're going through Hurt-Locker-ish kind of pain-like the aftermath of a bomb, sort of. There won't be much in the way of references to the actual Hurt Locker-movie or not-but I think the term is interesting and thought it might make a good title. Yeah, I suck at titling. But anyways, I appreciate the feedback, so please continue to review, and hopefully you enjoy! Thanks!_

Two

"Give me another one, Sammy," Will shoves his beer glass away from him and waits for the bartender to refill it. He's not quite drunk—he can hold his liquor better than most—but he's had enough that he knows he definitely doesn't want to go home. To JJ's cold shoulder. To all the words they shouted at each other that will doubtless still be hanging ominously over their heads. To the couch that is rapidly becoming his closest friend. If it weren't for Henry… No. He can't think that. He loves JJ. But he shouldn't have to have such a close, personal relationship with her answering machine. He's the father of her child, for God's sake. If only she'd just marry him. That would solve their problems. He's sure of it. Hmm. He may be drunker than he thought.

"You got someone to drive you home, Will?" Sammy leans over the counter to study him. She's worried about him. She's been seeing him here a lot, lately. He never used to stop in more than once every couple of weeks, but she's seen him probably a dozen times in the last month. She likes him—he seems like a good guy, and she really likes that he's never tried to hit on her. But something is definitely off with him tonight.

He shakes his head. "I'm not going home, Sammy. Not tonight. I ain't sleepin' on that couch again."

"Trouble on the homefront?" Sammy deftly slides the beer glass away from him and glances around to make sure no one else needs anything. The bar is practically empty, and she returns her attention to Will.

He shrugs. "JJ and I been fightin' a lot. I dunno what's got into her, but I know I don't wanna go home an' have her glarin' at me until she has to leave again."

"Well you can't stay here," Sammy tells him. "And I don't want you driving. Don't you have a friend you can stay with tonight?"

He shakes his head. "Chris is outta town. Steve don't stay up past ten since the baby was born… I guess I could call Spencer, but he don't have a car. You know I've lived in this city four years and I've barely made any friends? And all of 'em are cops or Feds. What's that tell you?"

"You're good at your job?" Sammy suggests. "Come on, Will. You don't have anyone you can call?"

"Will?" A woman's voice startles them.

"Emily?" Will frowns in confusion.

Prentiss sits down next to him at the bar. "JJ called me. She couldn't leave Henry to come and look for you, but she's worried sick about you."

"Is she?" Will asks dryly.

"Yeah, she is. Why don't you let me take you home?" Prentiss puts a hand on his arm, but he shakes it off angrily.

"I ain't going home, Emily. She'll just be waiting to yell at me some more. I'm sick of her yellin' at me."

Prentiss exchanges a look with the bartender, who sidles away from them with a last sympathetic glance at Will. "I know things are hard right now, but this," she motions to the bar, "Isn't going to solve things. JJ has a hard job. And even if she doesn't tell you, I know she's really grateful that you're here to take care of Henry. She loves you, Will. Just remember that."

He nods miserably and allows her to pull him to his feet. He fumbles in his pocket and throws a few bills on the bar before Emily pulls him outside and into her car. "My car…" he mumbles.

"You can come get it tomorrow… or later today, I guess," Prentiss starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot. They arrive at Will's house fifteen minutes later.

Will looks at Emily, his strikingly blue eyes somewhat dulled, partly from the alcohol and partly from exhaustion. "Thanks, Emily. I'm sorry you had to do this." He gets out of the car and heads up the walkway to his front door.

Prentiss follows him. "It's no problem, Will. Hey." She puts a hand on his shoulder, and he turns to face her. "I know I'm JJ's friend, but don't hesitate to call me if you need anything. Really."

"Thanks," he nods. They continue up to the front door together, where Will lets himself into the house and gives Emily a last wave before shutting the door behind him.

JJ is waiting for him. She's sitting at the dining room table with her arms and legs crossed. Glaring, she stands. "Henry's asleep, so I'm not going to raise my voice, and neither are you. But I want you to understand something. Your behavior tonight was pathetic. You can't just run off to some bar every time you get mad. And something else. For our son's sake, the next time you're drunk you are not coming into this house. Do you understand me?"

He nods. "Understood, boss. Go ahead on up to bed now. I won't make any more noise."

"You don't want to apologize?" JJ raises an eyebrow.

Will stiffens. "You're not my mother, Jennifer. Just go to bed and we'll talk in the morning."

"I'm leaving early tomorrow. I have a lot to do at work."

"Alright, then we won't talk. I'll see you when you get back. I'll be on the couch if you need me." Will turns on his heel and drops onto the couch without another word.

JJ goes upstairs and shuts the bedroom door behind her before she throws herself onto the bed and lets out a muffled scream of frustration.


	3. Chapter 3

Hello, friends! Glad that y'all seem to be liking the story so far-here's hoping you all continue to read, enjoy and review! Your feedback is appreciated-if there's anything that you do or don't like, let me know, please! Also, if there's something you feel should happen or whatever, let me know in your review! Here's Part 3; Part 4 coming asap!

* * *

Three

"Hey." Prentiss knocks on the door of JJ's office, Garcia only a step behind her. "Are you okay?"

JJ glances up at her friends. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Prentiss and Garcia exchange looks and step into the small office; they each take a seat across the desk from JJ. "What's going on with you and Will?" Garcia asks as she slides a Tupperware container across the desk.

JJ opens it and pulls out a cookie. "It's just been a tough couple of months. What about you and Mick, Prentiss? What's going on there?"

Prentiss shakes her head. "Uh uh. You think you can give us that bullshit answer and then get to ask me questions? Think again."

JJ runs a hand through her hair and lets her breath out in a whoosh. "Fine. We've just been fighting constantly these past couple months. It's whenever I'm home, and sometimes when I'm not. If I don't get back from work when I said I would. If he forgets to pick something up at the store that I asked him to get. If someone needs to take Henry to a play date and we both have other things to do. If we're trying to decide what to have for dinner. There's practically nothing we can do that won't start a fight." Her voice breaks, and she covers her face with her hands while she regains her composure. "I don't know what happened to us. For four years, we were happy. And now we can't even sleep in the same room."

The women sit silently for a while, and after a few minutes, Garcia stands and moves around the desk to put her arms around JJ. "Every relationship hits a rough spot, Jayje. It'll take some work to get through it, but you can do it. You guys are gonna be okay. You will."

JJ straightens and briefly returns Garcia's hug. "Thanks, Penelope."

Garcia stands and offers JJ a bright smile before hustling out of the office. "We'll leave you alone now. Love you, Jayje."

JJ smiles tiredly. "Love you too, Pen."

Prentiss stands. "Garcia's right. You guys are gonna be fine. You'll work it out."

She turns and heads for the door, but JJ's voice stops her. "But what if we can't?"

Prentiss looks at JJ steadily for a moment before replying, "Then you'll know when there's nothing else you can do. You've got a good head on your shoulders, JJ. If you're both at the very end of your rope, you'll know. And you'll know what to do."

"You sure about that?" JJ asks.

Prentiss nods. "Yeah. I'm sure. But it won't come to that. I'm sure about that too." She turns and hurries away before JJ can press the issue further.

JJ watches her go and glances back down at her paperwork. "I hope you're right."

* * *

That night, JJ puts Henry to bed early and hurries downstairs to find Will watching the end of the Redskins game. Without saying anything, she turns off the TV, takes Will by the hand, and pulls him to his feet. "What're you doing? I was watchin' that," he frowns.

She moves closer and stands up on her toes to kiss him. "I know we've been in the middle of a rough patch, but I love you and I want us to work this out."

"I love you too, Jen," he tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and kisses her again.

Without saying anything else, she slides her hands down his arm and takes ahold of his hand, then pulls him across the room and up the stairs to their bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's Part 4. Hope you all enjoy (at least enough to keep reading) and as always, please let me know what you think!

* * *

Four

"No, Will, I just can't keep having this same argument with you! All we do is scream at each other anymore, and I'm sick of it! Please, just get out! We both need time to cool off." JJ sinks down onto the couch and covers her face with her hands.

Will storms to the door and pulls his coat on. "Fine. I'll go. Don't count on me coming back to this, though." He slams the door behind him, shaking the house.

JJ angrily wipes away her tears and runs up the stairs to Henry's room. He's banging loudly on the little drum that JJ's parents gave him for his birthday. JJ sits down beside him and strokes his hair softly. "Henry? Sweetie? Hey, Baby. Mommy's here. I'm sorry you had to hear that." She pulls him into her lap and buries her face in his hair, and he hugs her back.

* * *

"Will? It's last call." Sammy puts a hand on his and reaches for his empty glass.

He runs a hand through his hair. "Then give me a shot of whiskey to go."

She sighs. "I don't think that's a good idea, Will."

"Just do it, Sammy," he snaps.

"Alright," Sammy purses her lips and pours him a shot.

He downs it and stands. "Well, thank you for your excellent service, Sammy. I'll see you around, huh?" He tosses some money onto the bar and heads outside.

"Hey, do you have someone to drive you home?" Sammy calls as the door swings shut behind him. She drops the towel in her hand and runs out after him, but she sees his car roaring out onto the street as she reaches the parking lot.

Will cranks up the local classic rock station as he drives, unsure of where he's actually headed. He's not going home, that's for sure. Maybe he should call someone. Or find a hotel. Didn't Emily say he could call her anytime? Yeah, she did. That's what he'll do. Emily's smart. She'll know what he should do. He fumbles in his pocket for his phone, but it slips out of his hand and down to the ground. "Shit." He reaches down to retrieve it and straightens, swerving sharply to miss an oncoming car, which honks angrily at him as it passes.

He dial's Prentiss' number and listens to it ring. "Prentiss."

"Emily? It's Will."

"Will? What's going on? It's two in the morning." She sounds confused.

Maybe she was sleeping. Oops. "I just left the bar. Were you asleep?"

"Yeah, but it's fine. Where are you?"

"I'm driving around… Just passed, um… Maple." He realizes the radio is still up loud and leans forward to turn it down.

"Listen, Will, I need you to pull over, okay? I'm gonna come get you. Just stay on the line."

"Yeah, lemme just… pull over." He looks up and sees the truck coming too late. He jerks the steering wheel, but not in time to escape the pickup ramming into the side of his car.

Emily hears the collision and pales. "Will? Will? Will, are you there? Answer me!"

* * *

"Will? Will?" Will regains consciousness to see Emily shaking his shoulder frantically.

He squints. "Emily? What happened?"

"You got in a car accident. The other driver says you swerved into his lane and he couldn't get out of the way fast enough. How much did you have to drink?"

He shakes his head. "I dunno. A fair bit, I guess."

She closes her eyes briefly, then asks, "Can you get out of the car? I couldn't open your door, so you'll have to climb out the passenger's side. Can you do that?"

He nods. "I think so." He allows Prentiss to grab his arm and help to pull him out the other side of the car. The entire left side of his body aches, and he groans as his foot catches on the steering wheel, jerking his leg.

"Are you okay?" Prentiss asks worriedly.

"I think I hurt my leg," he admits.

She purses her lips. "Okay, well just try to keep it still and I'll look at it once we get you out of here."

He nods and they return to trying to scoot him out of the wreckage of the car. Once he gets close enough, he just falls out of the door and sits on the pavement for a few moments before Prentiss bends down and pulls his arm around her neck. She helps him to his feet and with her help, he hops over to the curb and collapses down onto it.

The other driver is in his face within half of a second. "You idiot! What the hell were you doing? You could have gotten us both killed, you jackass!"

Prentiss holds up a hand. "Sir, please step away from him. He's aware of his actions, and the police will handle the matter of the blame for the accident."

"The matter of the blame? It's clearly this moron's fault!" The man exclaims angrily.

Prentiss nods. "Then the police will handle it. Right now I think it would be best if the two of you just exchanged information and then stayed away from each other." The driver nods, and Prentiss smiles tightly. "Thank you." She kneels beside Will. "Will? This guy needs your information, okay? Here." She hands him a notepad and pen. "Write it on this." Will scrawls down his name, phone number, and insurance information and hands it to Prentiss. She, in turn, hands it to the other man and takes his information from him. "Thank you, sir. The police should be here soon."

Sure enough, the sirens become audible in the distance within a minute or so, and Prentiss sits down next to Will on the curb. "What's with you, Will? I thought things were getting better with you and JJ."

He shrugs. "They were, for a while. And then… I don't know, we just started fighting again." He drops his head and shakes it disconsolately.

Prentiss puts a hand on his shoulder and pats it gently. "Well listen. I don't know much about long-term relationships, but I know this: you're never going to solve your problems with drinking."

Will shakes his head again. "I know. I'm at the end of my rope, though, Emily. I don't know what else to do."

Prentiss pats his back again as the police cars and ambulance pull up. "Well, you're about to have a whole new set of things to stress you out, I can tell you that much."

Prentiss shakes hands with the police officer and directs one of the EMTs to Will. He's helped onto a gurney and after the officer asks him some questions, loaded into the ambulance. Prentiss hops into the front seat and calls JJ on the way to the hospital.

* * *

"William LaMontagne?" JJ asks the hospital receptionist, a sleeping Henry bundled up in her arms.

"JJ! He's in here," Prentiss motions from the doors of the emergency room.

JJ thanks the receptionist and hurries over to Prentiss. "Is he okay?"

Prentiss nods. "He's got a broken leg and a couple of cracked ribs, and he's bruised all over, but he'll be okay. He'll need someone to take care of him for the next week or so, at least until the ribs heal. He's already talking about going back to work, though, so that's a good sign."

"Good. That's good. Where is he? I need to talk to him."

Prentiss holds the swinging doors open for JJ and Henry and motions to a door a little ways down the hall. "He's in there. He's just waiting to get the cast put on his leg."

"Okay. Can you hold Henry while I talk to him? I won't be long," JJ hands the little boy to Prentiss and steps resolutely past Prentiss and into the room.

Will looks up as she enters. "JJ. Did Emily call you?"

JJ nods. "She did. Told me you were in a serious accident because you were drunk and trying to drive." She heaves an exhausted sigh. "And when I heard it, I knew. I can't do this anymore. I can't fight with you, and I can't let you put Henry in danger with your drinking."

"Henry? No, I would never hurt Henry," Will protests.

"What if he'd been in the car, Will? What if I'd been in the car? What if someone besides you had gotten seriously hurt? You could've died, Will. And if someone else had been in the car, they could've died, too. I'm done. I wish this wasn't the end. I wish we could've worked it out. But we can't. We tried, and we can't. I'll pack a bag for you to pick up when they let you out of here, and you can see Henry and talk to him when you come to pick it up. And the next time I'm off on a case, you'll have a couple of days to come to the house and get the rest of your things."

Will shakes his head insistently. "No, Jen, this can't be it. It can't."

Tears well up in JJ's eyes before she swipes them away. "But it is."

She turns and walks out as Will whispers, "I'm sorry, JJ. I'm so sorry."


	5. Chapter 5

Hello, everyone! Hope you're all having a nice... end of summer/beginning of fall and school and all that! Well, here's the latest chapter. Hope you all enjoy and please continue to let me know what you think! And thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed thus far-it's much appreciated! =)

* * *

Five

Emily props the door open and pushes Will, complete with wheelchair, through it and into her apartment. "There's not much room for you to maneuver in here, so I'm sorry about that. But I imagine you'll spend most of your time on the couch anyways, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"You got nothin' to apologize for, Emily. I can't believe you're putting me up here."

Prentiss shrugs. "You can't stay on your own; between the broken ribs and the broken leg, you can't even get from the couch to the bathroom on your own, much less fix yourself meals and shower."

"Oh, and you're gonna help me with all that?" Will cocks an eyebrow.

Prentiss snorts. "I can help you get from A to B, and if you need… whatever, I can get that for you, but you're on your own for the rest of it. Although I can order takeout like a pro. I hope that's alright with you."

"I can do anything for a week," Will nods. "And I promise, I'll only be here for a week. As soon as the doc clears me for crutches, I'll be outta your hair."

Prentiss smiles. "I'll hold you to that. I can only be without a living room for so long, Freeloader."

Will rubs the back of his neck tiredly. "I know. I'll pay you back for this, Emily. How much is a week's rent plus extra for helping me survive?"

Prentiss puts a hand on Will's arm. "I was just kidding. I don't want your money. Just get yourself better and start moving on. The sooner you can do that, the better."

Will shakes his head. "I don't have debts, Emily. I'll pay you back, if not in money, then in some other way. I promise."

"Stop it. Don't think of this as a debt. Think of this as something family does for each other, not because they'll get paid back someday but because that's what family does."

"Family?" Will looks up at her.

She shrugs again. "The team is a family. You're family by extension—granted, you're estranged family as far as, well, I guess the rest of the team is concerned, but you're family nonetheless. And family takes care of each other. And I know this sounds cheesy, but as far as I can tell, it's true. I don't have to be surrounded by a loving, supportive family to know all the corny aphorisms."

Will smiles tiredly. "Well, I'm glad I still have some family left—even if it is by extension."

Prentiss rubs his arm. "Don't you forget it." She stands and moves to the kitchen, where she pulls a cooler over from beside the fridge. "Okay. I gotta get to work. Briefing's at ten and I should get some stuff done before then." She checks her watch. "There's just some snack-y stuff in there since I'll be back to take you to see your boss at eleven-thirty and we can grab a bite then. There's fruit and chips, and I don't know what you drink, but there's Diet Coke, Sprite, apple juice, and a couple bottles of water. Have whatever you want. I should be back by eleven, but if you need anything before then, give me a call. Ummm… TV remotes are there on the table, bathroom's right there… I'm probably forgetting something, but if you have any questions just text me and I'll get back to you ASAP."

Will nods. "Thanks for everything, Emily. You're a lifesaver."

She grins. "I'll accept that title. Okay. I gotta go. But I'll see you when I get back. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything at all. And get plenty of rest."

She pulls the door shut behind her and locks it.

* * *

"I can't believe he's staying with you," JJ shakes her head.

Prentiss shrugs. "He needs someone to help him out—the doctor says his ribs should be okay for crutches in a week, and once he can get around on his own, he'll be gone."

"Look, I appreciate what you're doing for him, it's just… I mean, I didn't know you guys were that… close."

"Ooh! Who're you close to, Prentiss?" Garcia appears at Prentiss' side.

Prentiss sighs. "We're not that close. He just needed a place to stay, is all."

Garcia gasps. "Oh my God! You have a man living with you?"

"He's staying with me temporarily," Prentiss explains, "And only until he can get around on his own."

"He's injured?!" Garcia claps her hands excitedly. "Oooh, Prentiss, you're gonna do the whole nurse-patient thing, and then you guys are gonna fall madly in love and get married. That's exactly what's gonna happen. Oh, you are such a genius! Look, you can tell us all about him Saturday night. And don't try to worm your way out of it, because I'll get it out of you eventually." She disappears into her office, and JJ and Prentiss exchange uneasy looks.

JJ touches Emily's arm. "Please don't say anything yet. I'm telling everyone that Will's out of town all week. I figure by then, I'll know how to tell everyone."

Prentiss nods. "Of course. It's not my place to tell anyone anything anyways."

JJ relaxes. "Thanks. I'll see you in there," she nods in the direction of the briefing room, and Prentiss nods again and heads down to her desk.

Half an hour later, Prentiss walks into the briefing room to see JJ finishing off an energy drink. Noticing Garcia close behind her, she raises her eyebrows. "Oh, you're not playin' around."

JJ glances up. "Mm. Will's away all week, so I'm pulling double duty with Henry."

Garcia eyes her watchfully. "Please tell me we are still on for Saturday night because I have had it circled on my calendar for the last twenty-three and a half days, which apparently, from the look of it, you did not."

Prentiss nods sagely. "Garcia paid good money for those Salsa lessons."

"I'll get a sitter," JJ snaps, barely covering her bad mood with a smile.

* * *

"You understand what a load of shit you've just dumped on my desk, LaMontagne? Jesus. A Detective who just got nailed for a DUI. Luckily for your sorry ass, the guy you hit is willing to handle this outta court, as long as he gets his truck fixed, but only because I told him you weren't gonna have a license for the next six months and that as soon as you get back to work, you'll be in the cage until such time as I see fit to reinstate you to your former position! I swear to God, LaMontagne, one more toe outta line and you'll be lucky to work as a mall cop, and even then I'll make sure they don't issue you a Taser! Do you understand me?"

Will nods. "Yes sir. I understand. I'm sorry about all this."

"Damn straight you are. Now get the hell outta my office. And I don't wanna see you around here until you come with crutches."

"Yes sir."

The chief wheels him out the door, where Prentiss is waiting just outside. He sighs. "You're a good cop, LaMontagne. I know you're goin' through a bad time. So fix whatever it is needs fixing and I'll make sure you get back out there. But fix it good, 'cause if this ever happens again, you'll be in deeper shit than you've ever been in before."

Will nods. "I will, sir." The chief nods at Prentiss, who nods back as she takes the wheelchair from him and pushes Will out the door. Once they're outside, Will lets out his breath in a whoosh. "That wasn't so bad."

"Yeah, it sounded like a real cakewalk," Prentiss agrees sardonically.

Will shrugs. "Well, he didn't hit me, shoot me or fire me, so that's a step in the right direction."

"Yeah, I guess so," Prentiss grins. "So look, I'm sorry I have to leave when you just got out of the hospital, but it really can't be helped."

He shakes his head. "Don't worry about it. I'll be okay. If I really need help with anything, I'll call my buddy Steve. He can stop by every once in awhile to make sure I'm still alive. No problem."

"I'm sorry I can't give you a ride to the courthouse tomorrow, too," Prentiss chews on her bottom lip.

"Quit apologizing. I'll take care of it. I'm a big boy, Emily. I can take care of myself… for the most part. And you'll be back in a couple of days anyways. Really. I'll be fine."

"Okay," she agrees slowly. "I guess you can just order in. I trust you to answer the door," she teases. "So what do you want for lunch?"

"Whatever's on the way back to your place," Will replies as she helps him into the car.

She folds up his wheelchair and sets it in the backseat. "McDonald's?"

"That's fine," he agrees, fighting back a grimace.

She notices his expression. "There's a Long John Silver's, too."

"That sounds great," he replies, visibly relieved. "And do you think we could swing by a grocery store and get some regular Coke? Because no offense, but Diet Coke is absolute piss."

Prentiss laughs. "Yeah, I think we can do that."


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks to everyone who's read and reviewed so far! Please continue to do so! =)

* * *

Six

Prentiss lets herself into the apartment. "I'm back! Don't shoot!"

"Okay. I'm putting the gun down, but don't make any sudden movements," Will wheels himself into the entryway, grinning. "How was the case?"

She shakes her head. "Not great. But you work the same kind of beat as we do, just on a more local scale. You know what it's like."

He nods. "I do. So what time are you leaving for your ladies' night out?"

"Couple hours," she checks her watch. "Hour. Traffic was a bitch."

Will nods. "I bet. But you got time to eat, and I ordered pizza. You know what time you'll be back?"

Prentiss shrugs. "Not too late. JJ got Reid to babysit, so we'll probably only be a couple of hours."

Will raises an eyebrow and nods skeptically. "Right. Well you'd better go get changed then. What time do you have to be up for Hotch's thing?"

"Triathlon? Pretty early, I think," Prentiss goes into the bathroom and calls, "I have an alarm set for half an hour before Garcia'll get here to pick me up, but can you just wake me up if it doesn't?"

"Sure!" Will calls, pulling a Coke can out of the cooler by the couch.

"Great, thanks! I'm gonna shower!" she shuts the bathroom door, and forty-five minutes later emerges from her room in a little black dress that she's clearly been saving for a special occasion and six-inch heels. Her hair is curled, and her makeup is much more dramatic than usual. "How do I look?" she turns a slow circle, then accepts a slice of pizza from Will.

He nods approvingly. "You'll knock them fellas dead. Guaranteed. Now hurry up and eat before they get here."

Emily wolfs down two slices of pizza and a Diet Coke and is brushing her teeth as the buzzer buzzes. Will pops his head in the bathroom door. "I'll make myself scarce. See you when you get back."

She spits and grins. "Thanks for dinner. See you in a couple hours." She pushes him into the living room, just out of sight of the entryway and tousles his hair fondly before disappearing to grab her purse and coat.

Will chuckles and mutters under his breath, "Famous last words."

He hears Emily pull the door open and exclaim, "Took you guys long enough. I was starting to think you'd chickened out on me!" before the door shuts behind her.

* * *

Prentiss wakes up with a groan. She hears a chuckle. "I take it you had a good time last night?"

She squints up at Will, who's at the side of her bed in his wheelchair, a mug of coffee held out to her. She takes it. "I can't remember. But I think so." She sits up slowly, covering her eyes with her free hand. "How did I even get home?"

"Penelope had everything taken care of. She had Kevin waiting to pick you guys up and take you home. Everyone got home safe. Reid stayed at JJ's to make sure she was okay, and he's riding with her to the triathlon, too. Garcia had Kevin. You had me. It all worked out fine."

Prentiss musters up something of a smile. "That's good. You didn't wait up for me, did you?"

Will shakes his head. "Not a chance. I know you guys can party with the best of 'em. You didn't get in until sunrise. I had an alarm set for five, stayed up from then 'til you got back, got you to bed and went back to sleep. It worked out well—for me," he grins.

Prentiss gulps down the coffee in a few scalding swigs. It begins to work almost immediately, and she relaxes somewhat. "Good. Thanks for doing that. What time is it?"

"Your alarm went off ten minutes ago," Will glances up at the clock on the wall. "You'd better hurry and get ready if you wanna be ready in twenty minutes." She nods and lurches to her feet. He catches her arm. "Easy. Bathroom's that-a-way."

Emily nods and stumbles to the bathroom. She takes a quick shower and gets dressed in jeans and a baggy sweatshirt, then emerges into the living room, where Will's waiting with more coffee. "Garcia oughta be here anytime. Tell Hotch congratulations when he finishes. I'll see you when you get back. We can lie around on the couch and eat junk food for the rest of the day."

She grins half-heartedly. "That sounds great. Can I just skip the triathlon and start now?" Just then there's a knock at the door, and she sighs. "I guess that's my answer, huh? Well thanks for waking me up, and for the coffee. I'll see you after noon sometime, I guess."

Will nods. "Have fun. Don't forget your shades."

She scowls at him as she pulls on her sunglasses. "Yeah, like I'd forget those. Okay, bye!"

* * *

"A couple hours. Couple hours! You guys didn't get home until sunrise!" Reid exclaims.

Garcia looks at him incredulously, but JJ doesn't move. "Why are you yelling?"

"Make him stop," Prentiss agrees, barely processing what the others are saying through the screaming of the crowd and the pounding of her head.

Morgan glances up at Jack, who's sitting up on his shoulders, looking out eagerly for his dad. "Okay, Jack, Jack! Earmuffs for a minute. Earmuffs." He turns to Garcia. "What did you guys drink last night?"

"The green fairy," Garcia moans. "You're in the FBI. Could you get the entire crowd to stop cheering?"

Reid glances down at his watch. "By my estimates, Hotch should be finishing any minute."

"Do you see him, Uncle Dave?" Jack asks Rossi.

"I think I do, kiddo!" Rossi points, "Right there! There he is!"

Jack, Rossi, Morgan, and Reid begin cheering again, and Prentiss glares at them from behind the shield of her sunglasses. Hotch crosses the finish line, and the men start off to greet him, the women trailing slowly behind. Morgan sets Jack down and encourages, "Go get him, Jack! Go, go, go!"

"You did it!" Jack cries, jumping up and down.

"I did, Buddy, I did! Can you believe it?" Hotch exclaims, beaming.

"Did you see my sign?" Jack asks, proudly brandishing his poster.

"I did! That's for you, buddy," he places his medal around Jack's neck. "Your sign's fantastic!"

"Look at you," Rossi grins. "How do you feel?"

"I think I'm gonna live," Hotch smiles.

Prentiss speaks up. "Pretty impressive. I had money on the swim killing you."

"I practiced," Hotch explains, still catching his breath.

"Well it paid off," Morgan nods. "Good job."

"Thank you."

"Hey, you guys wanna get something to eat?" Reid suggests.

JJ speaks up immediately. "Yeah. Something greasy."

"Oh yeah," Prentiss agrees.

"Hotchner!" A woman's voice calls from a little ways away.

The entire team looks over at the pretty brunette approaching Hotch and beaming just as widely as he is. "Beth! Jack, there's someone I want you to meet," Hotch pulls Jack over to the woman. They hug, and the team all exchange raised eyebrows before they head for the parking lot, Hotch and his friend close behind.

Prentiss pulls out her phone as she and Garcia split off from the rest of the group and approach Garcia's car. "Hey, Will. We're going out to grab lunch, so I'll grab you a burger or something while we're there. Okay. Great. Sounds great. See you in a bit. Bye."

She climbs into the car and buckles her seatbelt as Garcia speeds out of the parking lot. "It's weird," she comments off-handedly.

"What's weird?" Prentiss asks, resting her head on her hand.

"JJ and Will. And Will staying with you."

Prentiss nods. "I know. I was so sure they would work it out."

"Yeah. Me too. Well him staying with you is weird too."

"Well, he has no place to stay, he's injured and he shouldn't be on his own. He's in a wheelchair and the doctor doesn't even want him using that too much—he's supposed to be in bed most of the day. He's already been downgraded to my couch, which is horrendously uncomfortable anyways. I'm basically just there to keep him on the couch and answer the door when the delivery guy buzzes. And it's kind of nice to have company besides Sergio, who isn't much of a conversationalist."

"I know. And it's really great of you to do." Garcia smiles sadly. "I just wish it wasn't… like this."

"Me too," Prentiss concurs.


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for reading and reviewing! =)

* * *

Seven

Prentiss lets herself into her apartment and sniffs appreciatively. "Okay, you may have to cook every night, Will," she grins.

He laughs. "Yeah, I can order pizza like a champ. I got a Supreme and a Cheese with extra cheese…" He pauses.

She smiles. "Perfect. Did you get breadsticks?"

"Of course," he motions to the container of breadsticks on the coffee table. "There's your Diet Coke on the table, and a plate for you, and _The Incredible Hulk_ is in the DVD player."

Prentiss sinks down onto the couch with a smirk. "Excellent… except…"

"Except what?" Will asks worriedly.

Prentiss sighs. "Except… how are we gonna get him out?"

Will snorts and rolls his eyes. "Without making him angrier? Can't be done." He pulls a slice of pizza onto his plate. "But maybe we could try the Eject button."

Emily gasps. "We have one of those? That's handy. Maybe we should watch the movie first, though."

He shrugs. "We could give it a shot. See what happens."

"Good idea," she nods, picking up her Diet Coke can. She holds it up and clears her throat. "To a great temporary roommate, and to him having a successful Doctor's appointment tomorrow."

"To crutches!" Will raises his Coke can, and they tap their drinks together.

Prentiss sips her soda, then leans back in her seat as the previews begin to play. "Are you sure you won't stay here until you find an apartment? It doesn't make sense for you to pay for a hotel room when you already have a place to stay. I mean, even if you find an apartment, you might not be able to move into it for weeks, and that'll get expensive."

He shakes his head. "I've imposed long enough. Why, you gonna miss me?"

"I'll miss having human companionship," she admits, sticking her foot out to rub against Sergio as he passes. "Not that there's anything wrong with Sergio. He's just not the best conversationalist I've ever been around."

Will chuckles. "Well, we can still hang out. We can make lunch plans every once in a while, and I hate to ask you for more, but I'll need help moving and furniture shopping. I don't think I'll get anything but my clothes and a few CDs from JJ's house."

She smiles. "I'm excellent at picking out furniture. I can definitely help you do that."

"And I'll need someone to take me apartment hunting, too, since I don't have a car or a license," he comments.

"You're so helpless," she sighs.

He shakes his head. "I know it."

"Hey… Won't you need rides to work, too?" Prentiss hits the play button, and the movie begins.

He frowns at her. "Yeah, but I can take the subway. You don't need to do that."

She shrugs. "Well, if you're on my way, I might as well swing by and pick you up. I pass the police station every day on my way to work anyways. Just something to think about. Okay, the movie's starting."

An hour into the movie, the pizzas are mostly demolished and Prentiss and Will are slumped down on the couch, Will's feet up on the coffee table with a pillow under his injured leg and Prentiss' feet resting on his lap. "I don't get The Hulk. What's his deal?" Prentiss chews on the crust of her pizza as the Hulk roars and smashes his way across the screen.

"Well, he's really angry," Will takes a sip of his Coke.

She shoots him a look. "Thanks. I meant why do people root for him? I mean, whenever he's not the science guy, he's a menace to society. He's—" She glances over at him and stops when she notices his expression. "What?"

He chuckles and shakes his head. "Nothing. Just thinking."

She grins uneasily. "Okay… Well let's just watch the movie then, alright?"

Will smiles and pats her foot. "Alright."


	8. Chapter 8

Hello everyone! Hope you enjoy! Please review!

* * *

Eight

Prentiss stands as Will emerges from the examination room on crutches. She grins. "Well look at you, all upright."

He nods. "It's a medical marvel."

She chuckles. "Or one of biology."

He shrugs. "Or that."

"Come on. Let's grab some lunch before we go check out those apartments you found." She grabs his arm and leads him out. "Where do you want to go?"

He thinks for a minute, then replies, "You know I'd kill for anything Cajun right now?"

"There's a Mimi's a few minutes from here," Prentiss suggests, unlocking her car.

He nods. "Good enough. Let's go. I'm buyin'."

They have lunch, then drive to look at one of the apartments that seemed promising online. The first few are a bust, but the fifth one catches Will's attention before they even arrive at it. "That park… It's one of Henry's favorites. He likes the rock wall on the playground. It'd be nice to be so close to it."

"Well, let's hope the apartment is as good as the neighborhood," Prentiss replies, pulling up to the curb and shutting off the car. "Which it just might be." She raises her eyebrows as they walk into the lobby.

"Mr. LaMontagne?" the real estate agent approaches Will and shakes his hand with a friendly smile. "I'm Karen Greene. The apartment's up on the third floor." They follow her into the elevator and up to the third floor. She leads them down the corridor and unlocks a door on the left. "It's two bedrooms, two baths, a thousand square feet. A hundred dollars cheaper than the ground floor apartments because it's on the third floor. Air Conditioning in the summer, heating in the winter."

"It's nice," Will agrees, peeking into the bedrooms. "I like the elevator. It'll make the crutches a lot easier to deal with."

Prentiss examines the kitchen. "Look at all this counter space. Do you have any idea how much takeout you could put here?"

Ms. Greene laughs. "It's also a great neighborhood to raise kids in. I think you two could be very happy here."

Prentiss and Will both straighten. "Oh no, we're not… it's not for the both of us," Prentiss stammers.

"We're not a couple," Will corrects.

Ms. Greene flushes and murmurs, "Oh, I'm sorry. I just assumed. Well anyways, it's a great apartment and a great building. The other tenants are very friendly."

Will nods. "I like it. How soon could I move in?"

"As soon as you've signed the papers and paid the first and last month's rent," Ms. Greene replies, beaming.

Will glances at Prentiss, who nods. "It seems like a good fit. Henry'll love it."

He holds his hands up. "Where do I sign?"

* * *

"That dresser goes in the bedroom on the right side of the hall," Will directs the delivery guys who have been in and out of his apartment all day. Emily's in the hall telling the men where to put the furniture in each of the rooms.

"Put that against this wall, please. Watch out for the edge of the rug," she warns, smiling.

The man nods at her and heads back out to get the next piece of furniture. Emily steps into the living room and grins at Will. "Well, Henry's room is done. Except for the mattresses, which are supposed to arrive…" she checks her watch, "Within a couple of hours."

"Great. Let's see it," Will follows Emily to Henry's room and leans his crutches against the doorframe and shakes his arms tiredly. He puts his hands on her shoulders as he appraises the room. "It looks great," he nods.

She glances up at him. "You're just saying that."

He shakes his head. "No, I think he's really gonna love it. He's always wanted a racecar bed."

"Totally. I'm jealous," she teases. "So… have you and JJ talked about who gets Henry when?"

He nods. "Yeah. She'll get him for two weeks and then I'll get him a week at a time and take him when you guys are out of town, too."

"That seems like a good deal," she shrugs. "We're gone enough that you'll both probably have him the same amount of time."

He chuckles. "That's why I agreed to it."

She reaches up and puts her hand on his. "You're a good dad, Will."

"I hope so," he slips his arms around her and gives her a quick squeeze before he turns to motion to the men from the furniture store to bring the bed frame they're carrying into his room. "You're up, Emily. Do that Feng Shui stuff to it."

She laughs. "I don't know anything about that, but I can make it look good." She watches him grab his crutches and move back out into the living room and instinctively puts her hand on the spot on her shoulder where his was a moment ago. She nods to the men who are looking to her for direction. "Right in here. Just center it on the rug and then push it up against the wall. Yeah, that looks good. Thanks."

Her phone rings, and she answers it. "Prentiss. Yeah. Okay. I'll be right in." She hangs up and grabs one of the men as he leaves the room. "Come here. I have to leave, but there'll be a dresser, a couple of end tables and a decorative trunk-thing coming in. The trunk goes at the foot of the bed, the end tables on either side of it, and the dresser goes in this little alcove by the closet. Oh, and if you could just set this mirror," she motions to a mirror that's propped up against the wall, "on top of the dresser when you get it up here, that'd be great. Got it?"

He nods, and she smiles and presses some cash into his palm. "Great. Thanks so much." She heads out into the living room and puts a hand on Will's back. "JJ just called, and I gotta go. I told one of the guys where to put everything, and he'll set the mirror up on the dresser when they get the dresser where it's supposed to go. You can hang it up whenever. You might wanna get the curtains up though, since the fire escape is right here by the living room window… And I think that's it. JJ'll said she'll drop Henry by in about ten minutes, so I'll get outta here. I'll see you when I get back, alright?"

He grins and gives her a quick hug. "Great. You'd better stop by and make sure everything's right when you get back, okay?"

She laughs. "It's your apartment. You can decide if you like the way things are or not. Anyways, I'll see you later. Bye." She waves back at him as she hustles out the door and down the hall.


	9. Chapter 9

Thanks for reading! Please review!

* * *

Nine

"I think it's a good idea," Will shrugs, taking the flyer from Emily's hand. "Might be good for you to put down some real roots. And it looks like a nice place. Why don't we go check it out? We can go to the open house; the movie'll be over right in time for us to get to it."

She bites her lip and tucks her hair behind her ear. "You think so? Really?"

He nods. "I do. And Dupont Circle? That's a nice neighborhood. I think you'd be pretty comfortable there. No sense in not takin' a look. If you don't like it, we've only wasted half an hour of our time."

After a moment's hesitation, she nods. "Okay. We'll go."

"How long you been hangin' on to this flyer?" he asks.

"Week or two," she frowns. "Eyeing it. Contemplating throwing it away. Moving it around on the refrigerator. Stuff like that."

He chuckles. "Very nice. So you really didn't have any other plans on a Friday night? Goin' out with the girls or nothin'?"

She shakes her head. "Garcia had plans with Morgan and Reid, and JJ had other plans, so until you called an hour ago, I was just planning to hang with Sergio."

"JJ had other plans? Sounds like the whole rest of the team was busy. Who would she have had plans with?" Prentiss pales slightly, but stays silent. After the silence stretches on awkwardly, Will asks quietly, "She had a date?"

Prentiss purses her lips. "It… It might have been something like… a date."

"Good for her," he comments, turning his attention back to the TV, where _The Hurt Locker_ has been playing for the past forty-five minutes. Prentiss doesn't say anything, but after a moment, he motions to the screen. "These guys are insane. I don't know how they do that."

"Bomb Techs? No kidding," she nods in affirmation.

He shakes his head. "Well, yeah. But I was talking about actors. Put on the costumes. Play these people like they know about this kinda thing. It's crazy. How do they know they're doin' it right?"

"I don't know," she shrugs. "But obviously they did something right. This movie won an Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director, and Jeremy Renner—the main guy—got nominated for Best Actor."

"He did?" She nods, and Will raises his eyebrows. "Well, I guess he's pretty good. He didn't win, though?"

"Well… no," she purses her lips, "But he's been nominated twice, so evidently he's good at something."

"What else did he get nominated for?" Will wants to know.

"_The Town_. Did you see that?"

He shakes his head. "Never even heard of it."

Her jaw drops. "No? Oh, but it's great. I have it. You can take it home with you and watch it." She gets up and takes only a moment to locate it and pull it from the shelf of DVDs in her entertainment center.

"You like this Renner guy?" Will frowns, taking a moment to read the summary on the back of the box.

She's silent for a moment before she replies nonchalantly, "He's a good actor."

Will turns a searching gaze on her, and she draws back from him. "What? What do you want me to say, that I want to have his babies or something? He's a good actor; I like his movies. And yeah, if you must know, I think he's pretty easy on the eyes. Anything else I can do for you?" She makes a face at him.

He laughs. "No. Thanks for the admission. You could do better than him, though. I mean, he's rich and all, but you're too pretty for him."

"I'm too pretty for Jeremy Renner?" She narrows her eyes at him. "You had anything alcoholic to drink today? Should I be letting you drive home?"

"It's true. You could do way better than him. You could get a guy like… who's that guy? He was a real pretty boy in the eighties. Played in um… Remember that movie _Point Break_? He was, um, the surfer. The bank robber guy."

She thinks for a moment. "Patrick Swayze?"

"Yeah, yeah. You could get a guy like that."

She laughs. "You think I could get a Patrick Swayze?"

He shrugs. "I don't see why not." Their eyes meet, and his breath sticks in his throat for a second as her mouth spreads in a slow smile.

She grins. "Well, that's flattering. I'll keep that in mind."

They finish the movie, chatting throughout it, and then stand and head out of the apartment to catch the end of the open house.


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks for reading and reviewing so far!

* * *

Ten

"A row house in Dupont Circle?" Garcia is incredulous. "Wow."

Prentiss shakes her head. "I can't believe I'm doing it. I mean, it's probably not gonna work out anyway, right? There are five other sealed bids, and I offered way below what the owners are asking."

JJ grins. "Uh huh. Sounds to me like someone's hoping they don't get it." The three women and Reid begin heading up to the briefing room.

"Orthophobia, fear of owning personal property," Reid joins in without looking up from the case file.

"No! I don't have a fear of owning stuff. Turn me loose in a shoe store, I'll prove that. My fear is personal property that weighs three hundred tons."

"Actually, depending on materials used, square footage and horizontal versus vertical construction, the average house only weighs about sixty tons," Reid corrects, still not looking up.

Prentiss makes a face. "Well, thanks for that, Reid. I feel light as a bird already." JJ and Garcia smirk to themselves as they walk into the room, where Hotch, Rossi, and Morgan are already waiting.

"What do we got, Baby Girl?" Morgan asks.

* * *

On the jet home, everything is quiet, and JJ and Prentiss are both dozing off until the computer beeps to life and Garcia's image pops up on the screen. "Oh, hey, guys! Hey! I just wanted to see what's going on. Hi, hello."

Prentiss sits up and mutters, "This better be important, Garcia."

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just that a messenger came by the office today with some papers from escrow!"

Emily's eyes widen, and she leans forward. "No!"

"Oh, yes! The house in Dupont Circle! You got it!" Garcia throws small pieces of torn-up paper at the camera, evidently in the absence of real confetti. "Whoo!"

Emily laughs happily, and Hotch smiles. "Congratulations."

Her smile fades, and Rossi glances at his watch, amused. "Six seconds. Fastest case of buyer's remorse ever."

Hotch chuckles, and Morgan settles down into the seat across the table from Prentiss. "Well, I say the moment we land, we all head over to Ziggy's and clear out the champagne inventory."

JJ raises her eyebrows, grinning. "Aaaand talk Prentiss down off the ledge," she chuckles.

Emily furrows her brows. "Oh, my stomach doesn't feel so hot."

JJ notices her mood and quickly changes the subject. "Ohh… I was in the middle of the best dream. I dreamt that I was at this exclusive salon getting my hair done." She twirls her hair with a dreamy smile.

"Ah, the psychotherapeutic benefits of dreams: purging unpleasant images and replacing them with good ones," Reid nods. And just like that, the subject has been dropped, much to Emily's relief.

* * *

Prentiss is curled up on Will's couch, sipping a celebratory glass of champagne—her second of the night. "You know, people are awfully keen to celebrate me dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars on something that I'm not even sure I want," she remarks, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Will chuckles. "It's something that should be celebrated, Emily. I can't believe you haven't even gotten through two glasses of champagne and you're already getting cold feet about it. Buying a house is a good thing. Really. You'll get used to it, and you'll be glad someday."

"What, glad that you talked me into buying this house I'm not certain I want to be the owner of? Anyways, if we should be celebrating anything, we should be celebrating you getting off crutches."

He frowns. "Don't change the subject. Really, Emily. It's not a bad thing, settling down in one place."

She sets her glass down and wraps her arms around herself. "Sorry. I'm just… not sure about this."

He scoots closer and puts a hand on each of her shoulders, then leans forward to catch her eye. "This is a good thing, Emily. I promise you, it is. Don't waste your time worrying about it; it's not something you need to regret."

She finds it hard to breathe with his blue eyes boring into her, and before she can stop herself, she leans in and kisses him. At first, he doesn't respond, but after a moment, he begins to kiss her back. It's not until he responds that she jerks away, eyes wide. "Oh, God. That… Didn't just happen, okay? We had champagne… I need to go home. To my apartment." She stands, takes a deep breath, and shakes her head slightly. "I'm sorry. You're one of my best friends, Will. Don't let the combination of me and champagne screw that up. I'm gonna go. I'm really sorry." She hesitates, then smiles slightly. "Probably best not to mention this, yes?"

He clears his throat and nods. "Right. Our little secret. No more champagne, late nights, and panic, huh? We'll just avoid that combination from now on."

She chuckles awkwardly. "Thanks. Okay. I'm going home now. Bye, Will. We still on for breakfast on Sunday?"

"Yeah. We're still on. Drive safe, okay?"

"Okay. Yeah. I will. See you Sunday." She turns on her heel and hurries to the elevator, waving one last time as the doors slide shut between them.

* * *

I believe a kiss was requested... and it just so happened to work out that this chapter has one in it... Didn't do it on purpose, but it worked out nicely all the same. Now go! Review! Merci beaucoup!


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks for reading! Please review! =)

* * *

Eleven

Emily laughs. "Well, that's great. Really great. Well, look. I'm sorry I couldn't give you a lift. Uh huh. Yeah. Well, it's good to hear you're up and about. Great. Yeah, Morgan's with me. Hey, don't worry about it. You have to work, Will," she chuckles, "There's no need to apologize for that. Yeah, tomorrow. I'll see you then. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Bye."

She hangs up the phone, and Morgan raises his eyebrows. She hastens to explain, "Will's doctor says he can skip his last physical therapy session. Say's the leg's healed up really well and he's clear to get back to work, which is perfect timing because his boss just signed him off to get back on his regular beat."

"That's great." Morgan nods, and they move into another room to examine it. "So… what's going on with the two of you?"

Prentiss looks up at him, startled. "What?"

"You and Will. You spend a lot of time together. You drive him everywhere he needs to go. You let him stay with you and you helped him set up his new apartment. You saying that's just friends?"

Prentiss scoffs. "Yeah. That's just friends. Will's a good guy. He needed someone to help him through a tough time. And it was good for him to know that even though we're JJ's friends, we're his, too."

"We?" Morgan sounds skeptical.

"Sure," she shrugs. "He and Reid hang out every once in a while. I believe it started when Austin moved to DC and they started dating for real…" She cocks an eyebrow and flashes him a wicked smile. "Will's the only person he felt comfortable asking for dating advice, I think."

Morgan looks affronted. "He's asked me a few things."

Prentiss grins. "Well, you've never been in a relationship that's lasted longer than a Mento. Will was in a committed relationship for almost five years. And besides, you make fun of him every time he brings anything girl-related up. We all do, which I suspect is why he still won't bring her around to meet us." Her smile fades, and she glances around the room. "You done? I… I'm done."

Morgan nods, reading the writing on the wall, and they head outside. Prentiss accepts a flyer from the real estate agent as she and Morgan step out of the house. "Thank you."

Morgan pats the man's shoulder as he follows her up the stairs. "Thanks."

Prentiss sighs as they reach the street again. "I don't know."

Morgan frowns. "Emily, what's not to know? It's a beautiful place."

"There are cracks in the foundation," she turns to face him.

He glances back down at the door they've just emerged from. "Cracks can be fixed."

"No, they can only be hidden," she replies. "They're still there."

"What, are you afraid the place is gonna fall down?"

She hesitates. "I'm afraid it's never gonna be as strong as it was…"

He raises his eyebrows. "Okay, somebody's heart is not into it. What's goin' on?"

She exhales loudly. "I don't know. When I first came here, I felt like I was home. And now… it's just an uphill battle." He doesn't respond, and she continues, "People kill for opportunities like this. Am I crazy to walk away?"

"Well you gotta do what's best for you," he replies, watching her carefully from behind his sunglasses. "Follow your gut. What's it trying to tell you?"

She shakes her head and glances helplessly away from him, unable to respond.

At that moment, Prentiss' phone rings, and she answers it gratefully. "Prentiss. Yeah. Okay. On our way." She hangs up and looks at Morgan. "We gotta go in. Bank robbery at Colonial Liberty. Shots fired. Officer down. Hostage situation."

Morgan nods. "Alright. We'll finish this later."


	12. Chapter 12

Alright, folks. This is the longest chapter yet, and I think ever. Thanks so much to everyone who has read and reviewed so far! I'm glad y'all seem to be enjoying it so far, and please continue to review! Also, it almost killed me to write the scene between Will and JJ, since on the show it was so sweet and beautiful, but I got over it because I got to write some other stuff that's really exciting-I think for me and y'all who've kept up with the story. So, without further ado, I present: Chapter 12.

* * *

Twelve

Prentiss runs up the stairs, almost unable to breathe. She holds her gun out in front of her as she searches, and when she turns the corner, she exhales in relief. "I found Will!" she calls into her comm, running to him. He's chained to a pole in the construction area, with enough explosives strapped to him to send both them and everyone else in the building straight to Jesus—or to hell, she muses to herself. She might just learn more than she ever wanted to know about the real Hurt Locker today.

"Is he mobile?" Hotch asks.

She kneels beside Will. "Negative. He's got… six transmitters on him," she yanks the duct tape off of his mouth, "This whole place is gonna blow." The timer on his chest tells her they've got less than three minutes.

"Alright, where are you? I'm on my way."

She shakes her head. "No, you gotta get everyone out. Is the bomb squad here yet?"

"They're three minutes away."

She closes her eyes in dismay, then opens them to examine the bomb. "Copy."

"Henry. You gotta get Henry. They're at the house," Will gasps, clearly panicked.

Prentiss nods. "JJ and Rossi are there. They'll get Henry." She returns her attention to the bomb. Another minute passes as her brain races through every possible method of defusing the explosives on her friend's chest.

"Just get everybody out of here," Will orders, satisfied that Henry is safe.

"I'm not gonna leave you," she replies fiercely. "Just give me a minute."

He glances down at the timer. One minute, forty-seven seconds. "Mmph. That's about all that you got."

She laughs mirthlessly. "Okay. Everything they did and said was about them," she says, thinking out loud now.

"They're narcissists," he agrees.

"Romantics," she corrects, leaning down to the keypad. "They met in two… thousand… eight." She types in the numbers. 2-0-0-8. An orange "X" and the words "2 Tries Left" appear below the timer. One and a half minutes.

Will groans. "Ohh, what are you doin'? Seriously, Emily, go." She shakes her head. "Just go."

"Okay, hold on. Chad." She types in the numbers that spell it out. "Two four two three." Another "X" appears beside the first, this one red. 1 Try Left. "Oh! Damn it!" Will looks at her, his blue eyes lending her what little nerve he has left, and she tries again. "Okay, these are valentines for her. So a four-letter word. Love, life, uh, soul—"

"Izzy," Will pants. "Her name is Izzy."

They exchange one last look before Prentiss types in, "Izzy. I-Z-Z-Y."

The clock turns green and the timer freezes. Forty-five seconds to spare.

"Ha!" she sighs, relieved. And then one of the other boxes strapped to him flies open, exposing another timer attached to colored wires. Thirty seconds. "Oh God!" She can't breathe again. Twenty-eight seconds.

"Prentiss, what's your status?" Hotch's voice buzzes in her ear, and she jumps. "Prentiss, do you copy?"

Prentiss pulls her earpiece out and throws it to the ground. Sixteen seconds. "The storytelling is in the details. These wires mean something."

"Like what?" Will's practically hyperventilating now, and she can't blame him. He's had far too many near-death experiences today. Ten seconds.

She pulls out her wire cutters. "Colors of the flag of Chad—red, yellow and blue, and only one's different from the U.S. flag: yellow." Five seconds.

"What do you think?" His voice is ragged, and even though he's looking down at the timer, she can feel him willing her to save their lives. Three seconds.

She has to do this. He can't die. She can't explain it, but she knows. The world needs Will. She needs him, too, but if she doesn't get this right, what she needs won't matter. Nothing matters right now, other than that she just can't let him die. She shakes her head, holds her breath, and snips the yellow wire. One second. The clock stops.

Will groans his relief. Prentiss lets out her breath and falls back, catching herself on her hands.

They pant, exhausted, trying desperately to catch their breaths. "How'd you do that?" Will asks.

She exhales loudly. "I didn't overthink it."

He glances down at the bomb again and begins to chuckle half-heartedly. Soon enough, Hotch and Morgan arrive, followed closely by the bomb squad and a couple of paramedics. Will's free in minutes, and the four of them walk out of the train station, two of them breathing the air more gratefully than they ever have before.

Emily watches Will climb into the ambulance, holding his injured arm all the way. They exchange small smiles, and she murmurs, "I'll come by and see you later, okay?" He nods, and the EMTs close the doors as she steps back.

* * *

Will sees JJ walk into his hospital room and quickly sheds the sling on his arm. JJ hugs him, and he embraces her as well. He hears her breath catch, and says nonchalantly, "They say I need another x-ray." A small sob escapes her lips, and he pulls away. "Hey. Come on. Don't do this. It's okay. Henry's safe. It's all gonna be fine." He brushes the tears off her cheek.

She nods. "I'm glad you're okay, Will. I'm sorry for everything."

He shakes his head. "Nothing to be sorry for, JJ. Everyone's fine."

She releases him and turns to Rossi, who's holding Henry's hand. He releases the little boy, who runs into the room and climbs onto the bed before throwing his arms around his daddy. Will holds him tightly, closing his eyes as he revels in the feeling of holding his son again.

* * *

Back at the BAU, Prentiss perches on the edge of her desk, physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. Garcia comes down the stairs into the bullpen, and Reid turns to her. "The convention's still happening tomorrow, if you wanna go."

"Um, that whole 'city on the brink of destruction' thing kinda took the wind out of my sails, you know?" Garcia declines, putting a hand on the back of his chair.

"That'll do it every time," Prentiss agrees.

Morgan eyes her. "We didn't finish the inspection."

She takes a breath and glances down at the floor. "No need."

Reid frowns. "What happened?"

"Um, there is a horizontal crack in the foundation. It just weakens the entire base that the house is sitting on."

Garcia nods. "Yeah, that does not sound good."

"So, our UnSub is Izzy Rogers," Chief Strauss walks up to their group, a file in her hands. "She'll be charged with multiple counts domestically and our international counterparts will have their turn with her; she will never see the light of day. I just thought you'd like to know that."

Prentiss gives her a small smile, and Strauss turns to Morgan. "Agent Morgan? A word?"

They step aside, and Emily slides off of her desk. She motions to Garcia and Reid, who nod and wave as she heads for the doors. Morgan catches her in the parking lot. "Emily? Come here. Look, I know you don't wanna talk about it, but that's exactly why we need to talk about it. This has nothing to do with cracks in the foundation."

"No," she admits. "But it's a sign."

He rolls his eyes. "Please don't get all 'free spirit' on me."

She frowns. "I almost blew up today. Twice."

He nods. "I know."

"That's about as grounded as you could get."

He doesn't respond for a moment, but after a searching look, asks, "You wanna leave, don't you?"

She hesitates. "I didn't say that."

"It's the only reason you would be this quiet, Emily."

"Can we please… talk about this later?" She lowers her voice.

"No." He shakes his head. "How long have you been thinking about this?"

She sighs, defeated. "Honestly? Since I got back."

"Really?" He sounds surprised.

"It's not you guys. I love you. I just… can't grab onto my old life and pretend that nothing happened."

He looks down, searching for a plausible explanation. "Is this about Easter?"

"No." She shakes her head. "But he did ask me to run the London office."

"And you're gonna do it?"

"He just asked today," she starts inching towards her car again.

His voice stops her. "But you're thinkin' about it?"

"I don't know yet. It… I thought buying a house and putting down roots was gonna fix this… thing. It was gonna give me… what I wanted. But it, it hasn't. It's bigger than that." She looks at him, wanting someone to tell her what to do. She's never been so confused. He doesn't waver from her gaze. "You think I should stay."

After a brief pause, he replies, "I think I miss you already."

Garcia walks up to them and notices their expressions. "What?"

Prentiss shakes her head. "I… I'll tell you later."

"I do not like the sound of 'I'll tell you later'," Garcia glances back and forth between them.

"I should go," Prentiss smiles ruefully. "Will needs a ride back to his place, and I already told him I was leaving to get him."

* * *

As Emily pulls up to the hospital, she notices Will sitting on a bench just outside the door. She pulls up to the curb. "I'm sorry. I couldn't quite escape," she purses her lips.

He shakes his head, "Don't worry. It's fine. Thanks for the ride."

They ride in silence to Will's apartment, and when they arrive, they head up to the third floor. At the door of his apartment, they stop. Will looks intently at Emily, who tries to tell him good night, but can't quite find the words—probably because she doesn't want to go away from him. Finally, he speaks. "Thanking you seems a little… insufficient."

She laughs quietly. "Then don't. I didn't do anything you wouldn't have."

"Well, we'll never know, will we?" he says.

She chuckles. "Let's hope not. I don't know if I could do that again."

"Me either," he agrees, running a hand through his hair. "Well, we should probably get some rest. But do you want to go see a movie or something tomorrow?"

She nods. "Yeah. A rom com or something. Something with no violence and no explosions and lots of laughs."

He laughs and unlocks his door. "Sounds good."

"I'll pick you up at noon then. We can grab lunch and then go see the movie."

"Great. I'll see you at noon."

She pauses, then impulsively throws her arms around his neck. "No more near-death experiences for a long time, okay? I don't know what I'd do without you around."

He nods into her neck and holds her tightly. "Agreed. You better be around to keep me from having any more of them, okay?"

A slightly hysterical laugh escapes from her lips. "You got it." The embrace goes on, but eventually she lets go and smiles tiredly at him. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"See you tomorrow," he gives her hand a last squeeze as she heads down the hall. After only a moment's hesitation, he calls, "Emily!" He chases her down and grabs her arm, pulling her around and crushing his lips down on hers. Though she stiffens in surprise at first, she melts into the kiss and slips her arms around his neck, tangling her fingers in his hair. When they finally pull away for air, his arms tighten around her and he murmurs, "Don't ever leave me again. Bad things happen when you're not with me."

She fights to catch her breath and finally replies, "Okay."

He kisses her again, and she moans softly, urging him on. Their tongues meld together, and they slowly move towards his door and back inside the apartment.

Once inside, they make it back to Will's bedroom before they begin tearing at each other's clothes. Prentiss deftly unbuttons his shirt, but when she pushes it roughly off his shoulders, he flinches and draws back slightly. She pulls away, horrified. "Oh, God. I'm so sorry."

He shakes his head. "Don't be. I forgot about it, too."

She examines the bandage on his shoulder where he was shot. She lightly runs her finger over it, then kisses his shoulder; she trails her lips up his neck, down his jaw, and lands on his mouth again. "Maybe it's a sign."

He exhales heavily. "A sign that what?"

"A sign that we need to keep our clothes on tonight," she postulates, gently pulling his shirt back up onto his shoulders.

He sighs. "Maybe. I'm gonna keep kissing you, though." And he does.


	13. Chapter 13

Thanks for reading! Please review!

* * *

Thirteen

Emily wakes up and immediately feels the weight of Will's arms wrapped around her. She glances up to see him watching her, a vaguely amused look on his face. "Morning."

"Morning," her voice is scratchy, and she buries her face in his chest.

He pushes her hair away from her face and presses a kiss into the top of her head. "Let's forget the movie and just lay around here all day."

She sighs contentedly. "That sounds perfect."

An hour later, Prentiss rolls off the bed. Will frowns. "Where are you going?"

"You mind if I shower?" she backs toward the bathroom. "It'll take ten minutes."

He shakes his head. "Do whatever you want. I'll just wait here."

She grins and disappears into the bathroom. Ten minutes later, she emerges, wrapped only in a towel. Will's eyebrows shoot up. She smirks. "You got anything I could wear? I just wouldn't feel clean if I was wearing yesterday's clothes. I'm weird like that." He gets up and begins digging through his drawers. Eventually, he tosses her a dress shirt and a pair of boxers. She catches them and sighs. "I guess I had that one coming."

He chuckles. "Hey. Beggars can't be choosers. You could just stick with the towel, if you want."

She flashes him a wicked smile and disappears back into the bathroom. When she comes out, he's waiting by the door. "My turn," he explains, slipping past her.

She smiles and heads out to the living room, where she clicks on the TV and curls up on the couch. After five minutes, he joins her on the couch. "Whatcha watchin'?"

In response, she crawls over to him and kisses him hungrily. "That was a quick shower."

He slides his arms around her and pulls her closer. "You thought I'd draw it out when you were out here waitin' for me?"

Their lips meet again, and she laughs and murmurs against his lips, "I hoped not." He pulls her into his lap as his tongue presses gently on her lips, which part to let him in. They're interrupted, however, when there's a knock at the door. She extricates herself from his arms and goes to look through the peephole. He watches her stiffen and turn to mouth, "It's JJ!"

He jumps to his feet and motions for her to go back into his bedroom. She nods and runs back there, disappearing from sight just as he pulls the door open. "JJ. What're you doin' here?"

The blonde looks uneasy. "I was bringing Henry to the park and I thought you might like to join us and then grab some lunch afterwards," she explains.

Will glances back at his bedroom door. "Right now's not really a good time," he replies quietly. "Emily was really exhausted last night after she gave me a ride, so she slept on the couch and she's takin' a shower right now. But why don't I see if she can drop me off at the park on her way out?"

JJ nods. "That's fine. We'll see you in a little bit, then?"

"Sure. See you in a little bit," he smiles and closes the door as she turns to go. He heads back to his room and knocks on the door. "Coast is clear."

She opens the door with a sheepish grin. "Phew. Close one."

He chuckles. "Listen, I don't know if you heard…"

She nods. "I did. And that's fine. Go spend some time with Henry. Maybe we'll reinstate our movie plans and just go after lunch like we were planning originally."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," she kisses him quickly and goes to pick up her things. She pulls on her jeans from the day before and shoves the rest of her clothes into her purse, tucking Will's shirt in as she goes.

Will catches her hand and pulls her close. "I'll get out of lunch, if you want. Say I have things to do."

She shakes her head. "No. You need to be with Henry. I'll be fine."

"I got an idea," he slips an arm around her waist. "Why don't you drop me off at the park and then circle around and wait here for me? You know where the spare key is."

She kisses him on the cheek. "I can do that." She smiles and rests her head on his shoulder for a moment before straightening. "Now go get dressed."

"Yes, Ma'am," he grins and quickly changes into jeans and a t-shirt, and they head down to the car. When they pull up to the curb and the park, they see JJ watching them as Henry plays on the playground. Will turns to Emily and leans in for a quick hug. "I'll see you in a couple hours."

She feels his hand graze across her thigh and smiles to herself as he climbs out of the car and waves to her. She pulls out of the parking lot, drives down a block, then circles around and parks at the far end of the parking lot at Will's apartment. She lets herself in and sinks down onto the couch to wait for Will to get home.

* * *

When Will lets himself in the door, he spots Emily right away and crosses the room in a few long steps to wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her neck. "Sorry I took so long."

She stiffens and turns to him. "Don't ever be sorry for spending time with your son, okay?"

He notices her expression and frowns. "What's the matter?"

She shakes her head and leans into him, slipping her arms around him. "It's nothing. Just, while you were gone, an old friend of mine called. John Cooley. He… There's a lot of… history there. It… dredged up a lot of memories."

"Good ones?" he wants to know.

"Not exactly," she shakes her head again. "If we're being honest, those memories are the source of a lot of the emotional trauma in my life."

Unsure of what to say, he moves around the side of the couch and takes a seat on it, then pulls her into his arms and holds her without saying anything. Eventually, she lifts her head and presses a light kiss into the corner of his mouth. He glances down and is greeted by her waiting lips. She moves into his lap, and they press themselves closer together. When her fingers tug at the hem of his shirt, he stands, pulling her to her feet as well, their lips still melded. They move back into his bedroom, and this time, she's very careful of his shoulder.


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks for reading! Please review! =)

* * *

Fourteen

Will wakes to find Emily gone. He sees her standing outside on the balcony and pulls on a pair of sweats. He moves outside and slips his arms around her. She jumps, but relaxes after a moment. "Hey."

"Hey. What's going on with you?" He murmurs, brushing her hair to the side and resting his chin on her shoulder.

She takes a deep breath and exhales with a whoosh. "Just… a lot on my mind."

"What is it? This Cooley guy?" She hesitates, and he spins her around so that he can look her in the eye. "Emily, trust me. I'm here. Open up to me. Let me be a part of your life—whether it's the good stuff or the bad stuff or the things that make you get out of bed in the middle of the night and stand outside in the cold in nothing but my t-shirt and boxers."

She sniffs. "Okay." She perches on the railing of the balcony and pulls Will over to stand beside her. "We moved around a lot when I was a kid. When I was fifteen, we were living in Italy. It's hard to make friends when you're never in one place for very long. I… There was one boy. Matthew Benton. He was my best friend. And then there was John Cooley." She pauses and takes a deep breath. "I just wanted to be accepted. And in the process… I got pregnant.

"Matthew made me an appointment. Took me to the clinic. Stayed with me the whole time." Her voice quavers, and she bites her lip before continuing. "And that was the end of it. Until twenty years later. Matthew… died." Here, her voice breaks, and her head drops as she struggles to compose herself. Will reaches over and takes her hand. She grasps it tightly. "He was murdered. John… John was the one who told me. Later, he… he was almost killed by the same man." She takes a deep, shuddering breath. "John tries to keep in touch now. I think he's trying to make up for not being there for me in Italy. In any case, it's still hard to talk to him. It's just this constant reminder of Matthew and how I wasn't able to help him."

Will moves so that he's standing in front of her and puts his arms around her. She sniffles as he holds her close, willing for her to understand through his touch what he can't put into words. Their lips find each other in the darkness, and she sighs contentedly as his hand slides up her thigh. Suddenly, she straightens and pulls away as Clyde Easter's offer, which has been nagging at the back of her mind pushes itself to the forefront once again. "There's something else."

Will watches her steadily, his eyes still that piercing blue, even in the dim moonlight. She struggles for the words. "I… There's… It's…" She shuts her mouth and closes her eyes briefly, then gives up. "I… I love you, Will."

He doesn't even hesitate. "I love you too, Emily."

She surrenders herself to him, pushing every doubt, fear, and thought away as his arms go back around her and he lifts her and carries her back inside.


	15. Chapter 15

Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! Your feedback is appreciated =) So basically, the story is all written, and it's just a matter of getting it up - I promise to have a new chapter up every week, although it might be difficult over Christmas break. Hopefully I'll be able to update regularly. In any case, here's chapter 15. Please continue to tell me what you think - it's all very helpful!

* * *

Fifteen

"Prentiss? A word?" Hotch summons her from his office as she's on her way out of the BAU, and she exchanges confused glances with Reid before moving out of the bullpen and into her boss' office. "How are you?" he wants to know. Prentiss takes a deep breath, then exhales with a whoosh. Hotch raises his eyebrows. "That bad?"

Prentiss hesitates, caught off guard. "What?"

"That's your tell," he informs her.

Prentiss frowns. "It is?"

"Mmhmm."

"For how long?" She's curious now about how many times she's revealed her feelings and thoughts to him without meaning to.

Hotch chuckles quietly. "Uh, ever since… I've known you?"

Prentiss makes a face. "Ugh. Well. You have one too."

Hotch's laugh takes on an uncomfortable tone. "I do?"

Prentiss laughs, a bit more relaxed. "Yeah. Only I'm not gonna tell you what it is, or you'll stop doing it."

"I see," he smiles. There's a pause. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Prentiss glances out the window to see the remainder of the team, sans Rossi, staring unabashedly at Hotch's window and murmuring amongst themselves. "Absolutely. But not now."

A quick glance out the window shows Hotch why she's hesitant. "First thing tomorrow?" he asks.

She nods. "It's a date."

"Okay," he holds the door for her, and she steps past him just in time to see the rest of the team look away from her hurriedly and resume their preparations for going home.

Garcia corners her as they wait for the elevator. "What's going on, Emily?"

Prentiss shakes her head. "Can we talk about this later? I'm beat."

"Hey, do you guys wanna get something to eat?" Reid joins them.

"No. You already promised me you'd tell me later. Well, Princess, it's later."

Prentiss turns to Reid. "Uh, I'm pretty beat, Reid. But we're still on for Avengers on Friday night, yes?"

The elevator dings open, and the three step into it. Morgan catches it just in time to hear Garcia say, "Don't avoid me, Emily. You've been weird these past few days. Would you just tell me what's going on?"

"Yeah, we're still on for the Avengers," Reid replies.

"Great. And do you mind if Will comes? Apparently he's a huge fan of all the superhero movies. Oh! And I was thinking you could bring Austin, too. I wouldn't mind having another woman around. And I promise not to give you a hard time," Prentiss grins, looking past Garcia.

Reid nods. "I'll ask her."

"Ohmygod does this have something to do with Will?" Garcia pushes past Reid to stand directly in front of Emily. "What's with you these days? You said you'd tell me! Morgan, help me out here!"

Prentiss shoots Morgan a helpless look, and he takes over. "You guys are going to see the Avengers? You mind if I come? It looks good."

"Sure, you could come," Prentiss agrees gratefully. "I'm picking up the tickets on my way home. I'll get one for you, too."

"Great, thanks."

"Fine. But this is not over," Garcia promises as the elevator doors slide open on the ground floor and the four agents head out of the building.

* * *

Will is playing dinosaurs with Henry when the phone rings. He sets the little plastic toy down and hurries to answer it. "Hello?"

"Will? It's Emily."

"Emily. What's up?"

"I know you have Henry, so I'll be quick. I just really need to talk to you. Do you think… could we meet early for the movie Friday night, maybe have dinner beforehand?"

She sounds stressed, and Will agrees quickly. "Sure. Six-thirty?"

"Sounds good. Thanks, Will."

"Of course. Hey," he lowers his voice so Henry can't hear, "I love you."

"Love you, too. See you Friday."

"Friday it is." He hangs up and returns to his son, wondering what it could be that she so desperately needs to talk about.


	16. Chapter 16

Thanks for reading! Please review!

* * *

Sixteen

Emily fidgets with her napkin as she waits for her meal to arrive. Will offers her another slice of bread, which she declines. After a few minutes, the waiter arrives with their food, and she smiles and thanks him, but doesn't eat.

Will takes a few bites, then stops to frown at her. "Aren't you hungry?"

She shakes her head. "No. Well, I was, but the smell… it's just so fishy. It turns my stomach, a little bit."

"Are you sick? Because we can skip the movie tonight," he offers. "Go back to your place. I'll hold your hair if you need to throw up." This warrants a small smile from her, and he grins. "There. That's better."

"I'm fine. I guess I just ordered the wrong thing."

"You love salmon, and it's never disagreed with you before. Whatever it is you need to talk to me about must really be gettin' to you. What is it?"

She takes a deep breath. "There's… it's just… The day of the robbery, I got a call from an old colleague of mine. He… offered me a position heading up the London Field Office for INTERPOL."

Will's brows furrow. "But, you… have a job. Here. You love your job."

"I… I do. I have a job. But I… I can't stay. Whatever I decide about this job with INTERPOL, I don't think I'll stay with the BAU."

"And… if you take this job, you'll move to London?" He seems reluctant to come to the inevitable conclusion that her gaining this job would mean his losing her.

She nods slowly. "Well, it would make it easier for me to run the _London_ office…"

"Don't patronize, Emily," he shakes his head. "Let me just work through this, alright?"

"Sorry," she apologizes. "I just…" she lets out a frustrated groan. "This would have been so much easier if it wasn't for you," she sighs, dropping her face into her hands. "I need help. Help me, Will."

He crosses to her and kneels in front of her. "Emily. Look at me. Emily." He takes her hands, and waits for her to raise her head and meet his gaze. "If you want my thoughts, I'll give 'em to you. But I don't think you need to make a decision tonight. Let's just go to this movie, and we can talk about it later."

After a brief pause, she purses her lips. "I want your thoughts."

He looks startled, then squeezes her hands and begins to return to his seat. "My thoughts can wait."

"No," she shakes her head. "They can't. I need to know what you think."

His gaze hardens slightly. "Well, I don't know what I think just yet. I've had all of a minute and a half to process the information."

"You want me to stay," she says quietly, reading into his silence.

He's bordering on angry now. "Of course I want you to stay. You think I want you thousands of miles away? You want my opinion now? Fine. I think it's a great opportunity. I think it's a job that you could do well and love. I think that if you're struggling as much as you say you are, then getting a fresh start would be a good thing for you. Do I want to lose you? No, of course not. But as much as it would hurt me to not be around you all the time, it would kill me more to stand in the way of an open door like this one. Fact is, you deserve to do a job that can take your career everywhere it should go and farther. And if you feel that this job is it, I'm not gonna stand in your way." Having said his piece, he stands and retreats to his chair and again begins to pick at his food.

She wants to say something to smooth it over, but she knows there isn't anything she can say that won't make it worse.

The rest of dinner is strained and quiet, and once the bill is paid, they leave to meet the others at the movie theater, where the lines are already quite long. They show their tickets to the theater employee, who points to the correct line, where Reid and Austin are already waiting. Prentiss and Will smile and greet them enthusiastically. "It's really nice to see you again, Agent Prentiss. We didn't really get to talk the last time we met," Austin grins.

"Emily, please," Prentiss corrects. "And it looks like we'll have plenty of time to chat. God, I had no idea that getting here two hours early wouldn't be early enough," she laughs. "So I guess this movie is a pretty big deal."

"A big deal? This is the kickoff movie of the summer," Reid pulls off his glasses to polish them. "And it's an assembly of all of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Marvel has been working up to this film for years. Six lead-up films, countless television spots, millions of dollars spent on the franchise. I think it's safe to say this is the most highly-anticipated film of 2012."

"And… you're supposed to be Bruce Banner?" Prentiss wants to know, eyeing Reid's extremely Banner-esque blazer, khakis, button-down shirt and glasses.

Reid shakes his head. "No… This is what I wore to work today. You were there. Don't you remember?"

"Yeah, work was a little bit of a blur for me today," Prentiss shrugs. "I wasn't really paying attention to what was _en vogue_ at the office today. Sorry."

Austin laughs. "Yeah, I thought he was supposed to be the Hulk, too. He dresses up like Doctor Who, I figured he'd dress like an Avenger, too."

Prentiss snaps her fingers. "That's exactly it! You really seem like a comic book kind of guy, Reid. Also, you really think this is the most anticipated movie of the year? I think The Hunger Games was a little more highly anticipated. I mean, those books have a following that still amazes me. And JJ, Garcia and I went to that together. It was packed. More than this."

"I don't know," Will disagrees. "I think the new Batman movie will be huge. The other two movies are incredible. The finale to it has to be good."

"Batman? Hell, yeah," Morgan joins the group. "I knew I liked you, Will. Batman's gonna be badass. I know that for a fact." He holds out his hand to Austin. "Good to see you again, Austin."

Austin grins. "You too, Derek." She pauses. "Hey, sorry, but I just wanna be sure. Will, you're Emily's… boyfriend?"

Reid, Will, and Prentiss all hasten to answer. Reid quickly corrects, "No. They're just good friends. Will and JJ used to be a couple."

At the same time, Prentiss insists, "No, no. He's just a friend."

But it's Will's caustic, "Not exactly," that causes Morgan to raise his eyebrows.

"Not exactly? What's that mean?" he asks suspiciously.

Emily flashes Will a look, and he shrugs. "Well, if I knew that, I'd tell you."

Austin smirks. "Ah. One of those."

"Well, since when is it not 'just friends'?" Morgan wants to know.

Emily pales, but Will ignores her barely muted panic. "Well, even if it was 'just friends,' when does 'just friends' ever really mean 'just friends'?"

"Not often enough," she mutters.

"Give us a minute?" he pulls her a few feet away—as far as they can get in the crowd.

She glares at him and hisses, "What are you doing?"

He frowns. "Nothing. What's wrong with them knowing? I'm not saying we need to tell people I'm your boyfriend, but what's wrong with us telling people we're dating? We're both single. What are you afraid of?"

"What am I afraid of?" She's incredulous. "I'm afraid of JJ finding out before we have a chance to tell her ourselves. I'm afraid of telling people that we're in a relationship and then moving to London and making all of it pointless. I'm afraid of hurting people by being with you, I'm afraid of hurting you, and most of all I'm afraid of getting hurt like I always have up till now. God, I am so selfish."

He cuts off anything further she might have to say with a kiss. "You wanna hear selfish? I'm tired of being in relationships with women who are afraid to admit to other people that they love me. All I want is to acknowledge to your friends that you care about me. That's all. Can we just forget all the things that we're scared of and worried about and just be happy to be together with our friends tonight? Please?"

She swallows, then takes a deep breath and nods. "Yeah. Let's do that."


	17. Chapter 17

This was kind of a tough chapter to write... But on the plus side, today and next week I'll put up 2 chapters instead of 1! Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! Please keep it up!

* * *

Seventeen

Prentiss glances at her watch and stands. "Well, that's it. I'm no longer an employee of the FBI. Stick a fork in me," she grins, stretching and shoving the final few objects from her desk into the box at her feet. She shuts down the computer and sets the box on her now-empty desk. She moves over to Reid and smiles sadly at him.

He stands awkwardly and allows her to wrap her arms around him. He hugs her back and murmurs, "I'm gonna miss you, Emily. We all are."

She nods into his chest. "I'll miss you, too. Like crazy, Reid. You'd better keep your calendar open for our movie dates, you hear?"

He chuckles slightly. "My calendar is pretty much always open. We'll definitely still be able to hang out."

She laughs and pulls away. "Good. I'll see you around, okay?"

"Okay," he watches her go as she heads up to Rossi's office.

After Rossi is Garcia, then Hotch, then Morgan. She saves JJ for last, dreading what she has to do, and when it's finally time, regretting all the other goodbyes that have made her emotions topsy-turvy already. She knocks on tentatively on JJ's door. "Jayje? Can I come in?"

"Of course," JJ smiles and steps aside so that Prentiss can move into the small office. "So. Your last day. How you feeling?"

"Oh, not great," Emily sighs. "I can't believe how hard it was to say goodbye to everyone. I didn't see that coming."

JJ laughs quietly. "I know how that feels. But at least you're leaving of your own volition."

Emily nods. "That's true. Listen, I have to talk to you about something... difficult. Do you have a minute?"

"Sure. What's up?" JJ steps past her friend and around to the other side of her desk, where she begins straightening up the stacks of paper and file folders scattered around the surface of the desk.

Emily takes a deep breath, lets it out with a whoosh, and steps forward. "You… you know that Will and I have been spending… a lot of time together lately."

"Yeah," JJ flashes her a confused look, but she's still smiling. "And I'm fine with it. We've talked about it before. I'm glad you guys are still his friends."

The brunette nods again. "I know. It's just… there's more. Recently, Will and I have been seeing each other in a… romantic capacity."

JJ straightens, frowning. "A… what?"

"Will and I have been… dating," Emily explains. "Not for long," she holds up an appeasing hand, "But long enough that we felt you should know."

"We?" JJ asks, her voice dulled slightly. "If you both felt that, then how come you're here telling me this alone?"

Emily purses her lips. "Because… I asked Will to let me do it alone. I didn't want you to feel ganged up on. I thought it would be hard enough for you to hear it from me."

JJ sets down the files in her hands and moves out from behind her desk. "No. It's… it's fine. Will and I haven't been together for months. He's single, you're single. There's no reason for you two not to be together. It's great. Really. Thanks for being honest with me."

"Are you sure?" Emily's brows furrow.

JJ nods. "I'm sure. Now, if you'll excuse me, I just need to… do something," she begins to head out of the office, then whirls, suddenly angry. "I thought you were just trying to get me to admit that Will and I were dating when you said he was, 'something fun to look at,' but you were serious? You wanted him, too? And when you joked with Agent Todd that I might have snagged 'the last viable donor,' you really meant it, huh? He was it for you?" Her tone is filled with venom, and Emily draws back.

"No. I was happy for you, JJ. I was the first one to congratulate you when you told us you were pregnant with Will's baby. He was never more than my best friend's boyfriend and the father of her child. And then we became friends—not close friends, but friends that enjoyed talking when we saw each other. And then after the two of you broke up, and he was staying with me, we got closer. He became one of my best friends. But even so, neither of us had _any _romantic feelings for each other for a long time after that. And I don't know how it happened, JJ. Honestly. I think it surprised both of us."

JJ's eyes fill with tears, and she swipes them away angrily. "Well, isn't that nice for you?"

Prentiss shakes her head. "No, it's not. True, I am very happy with him, but if there were some way that I could be happy with anyone else—anyone that I could be with and not hurt you, I'd do it in a heartbeat. You're my friend, JJ. It kills me to hurt you like this—it kills both of us. I don't want to lose your friendship over this. Please tell me we can still be friends."

"Would you end it with him if I said we couldn't?" JJ levels an angry stare at Prentiss, who doesn't seem to be able to formulate an answer. JJ nods. "Then I think you have your answer." She storms away, leaving Prentiss standing alone in her office.

Emily glances down into the bullpen to see Morgan, Reid and Garcia all staring startled at the spot where JJ had just been standing. They turn their gazes to her, and she quickly turns on her heel and heads out of the BAU, swiping at her eyes as the doors swing shut behind her.

* * *

Prentiss lets herself into her apartment and curls up on the couch without a word to Will, who's been waiting there for her since he got off work. He doesn't say anything either, but moves over to the couch and kneels in front of her. He puts a hand on her head and strokes her hair gently. She draws back, but he doesn't withdraw his hand. "Emily, you knew when we started this that eventually she'd find out. You knew this conversation was coming. And I offered to go with you. Don't pull back now."

She doesn't say anything, but allows him to continue to stroke her hair, and eventually, she sits up, motions for him to join her on the couch, and when he does, curls up against his side. He presses a kiss into the top of her head, and she slips an arm around him and rests her cheek against his chest. "It's just everything, you know? Saying goodbye to the rest of the team was hard enough. Maybe telling JJ about us could've waited until later."

A chuckle escapes his lips before he can stop it, and to stop any more from coming out, he presses a kiss into her hair. "I don't disagree. But it's done now. And the truth is, she may not have to deal with it for much longer, if you decide to go to London."

She nods. "I know. You still think I should go?"

"Quit asking my opinion, Emily. I've told you what I think. You need to make this decision yourself."

"Right," she agrees, then twists until she's facing him and wraps her arms around his neck and softly presses her lips against his. "I'll sleep on it and give Easter my answer tomorrow, like we talked about."

"Good idea," he murmurs against her lips, slipping his arms around her waist and pulling her close.

"So? What'd you tell Easter?" Will wants to know the second Emily's inside his apartment and the door is shut behind her.

She sheds her coat and turns to face him. She takes a deep breath and slowly says, "I… told him that I'd take the job. But," she holds up a hand, "Only on a temporary basis. To see if I'm a good fit. And to see how London agrees with me."

He rubs his jaw tiredly, exhales loudly, and nods. "Okay. Then come here." She takes a few steps toward him, and he grabs her by the waist and pulls her closer insistently. "You're not gonna leave my side from now until you have to get on that plane. Understand me?" He kisses her passionately, and her answer is drowned out by a cross between a sigh and a moan.

He picks her up effortlessly, drawing a gasp from her, and carries her, laughing, back to his bedroom.


	18. Chapter 18

Thanks for reading! Please review!

* * *

Eighteen

Will takes Emily to the airport and carries her bags into the terminal for her. Once her bags are checked, he pulls her aside and enfolds her in his arms as his lips descend on hers. She melts into him and when they eventually pull away, he draws in a deep, shuddering breath and gently caresses her hair. "I'm gonna miss you."

She shakes her head vehemently. "It's only temporary. It might not work out. I could be back in a few months."

He chuckles half-heartedly. "Please. You're gonna excel, like you always do. There's nothing you're not good at, Emily."

"I'm not good at this," she purses her lips. "And I have this feeling like I'm not gonna excel at being okay without you."

"Hey," he catches her gaze and holds it. "You won't be without me. We'll talk on the phone, and we've got our weekly video chats set up. And I've never been to London. Maybe I can come visit you sometime."

She nods. "You'd better."

"I guess I'd better get a passport, then," he grins.

"I think that's a good idea," she kisses him quickly one more time, then extricates herself from his arms. "I should go."

He nods. "Okay. Call me when you land. I love you."

"I love you, too." She slings her bag over her shoulder and heads up the elevator to make her way through security, turning back to cast one more wave at him as he watches her go.

When she lands, she immediately calls Will. "Hey. Just got off the plane, headed for the baggage claim. I miss you already. It's packed. Yeah." She reaches the baggage claim and stops as she sees Clyde Easter waiting for her about a dozen yards away. "Listen, I have to call you back. Yeah. I'll call you when I'm all set up in my apartment. Okay. Love you, too. Bye."

She hangs up just as she reaches Easter, and he raises an eyebrow. "Love you? Oh, Emily, don't tell me you've gone and fallen in love and that's why you won't take this job permanently."

She scowls at him. "Well, I'm here, aren't I? So what are you doing here? I thought I was supposed to rent a car and meet you at the field office."

"That was the plan, but I thought you might not mind having some company and being able to go straight to your apartment. You can come to the field office tomorrow."

She grabs her bags as they come around on the carousel. "That sounds great. I wouldn't mind getting to bed a little early tonight. I'm pretty beat from the flight."

Easter nods. "Good. Follow me. I've got a cab waiting. Your things have got here already, and the movers have set most of it up. You can rearrange whatever you'd like to. And Emily?" They push through the doors and step outside. "Welcome to London. You're gonna love it here," he smirks.

She shakes her head. "We'll just see."

Easter chuckles. "I suppose we will."


	19. Chapter 19

Double chapters today! I probably won't be able to update for the next few weeks, so sorry about that! But I'll do my best to get a new chapter up ASAP! Thank you all so much for reading and for the great reviews!

* * *

Nineteen

Emily watches eagerly as people begin to file off of the airport elevator. After a minute or two, she brightens and smiles as Will steps off of the elevator and hurries over to her. He wraps his arms around her and kisses her hungrily before she even has a chance to speak. When they finally pull away, she takes a moment to catch her breath before she gasps out, "Welcome to London."

He chuckles. "Thanks. Are you gonna be my tour guide for the week?"

"Yeah. I'm Emily," she takes his hand and leads him over to the baggage claim. "It's really nice to meet you, Will, is it?"

He stands behind her as they wait for the carousel to begin moving, his arms wrapped around her and his head resting on her shoulder. "It's been hell without you, Emily."

She heaves a sigh. "That goes for those of us on this side of the pond, too." She rests her hands on top of his hands and leans her head against his.

The carousel clanks to life, and bags are spat out onto it as the conveyor belt begins moving. Will's suitcase comes past fairly quickly, and they leave the airport, their hands still linked. "So. Where to first?" he asks.

She grins at him. "There's this great little pub by my apartment that we'll stop by at for lunch, and then I thought we might spend the rest of the day at my place… And if you want, we could do some sightseeing tomorrow, once you've had a little time to counteract the jet-lag. After that, I have no plans, except for not letting you out of my sight until next Sunday night when I have to see you onto the plane that's gonna put an ocean back between us."

They get into her black Land Rover and she pulls out of the Heathrow parking lot and onto the road. It takes them twenty minutes to arrive at the pub, and the waitress seats them right away in a little booth toward the back. Will watches Emily concentrate on the menu and asks, "So, am I gonna get to see where you're working?"

She shrugs. "If you want to. I don't think you'll find much of interest there, but we could make it a stop."

"Are you liking it?" he wants to know.

Her gaze flickers over to him momentarily before returning to the menu. "You ask me that every time we talk, Will. Are you expecting my answer to change?"

"I'm expecting you to actually answer me one of these days, Emily. It's not a complicated question. If you're not, then come back to DC. But if you are, then that's great. But I can take it, whatever your answer is."

She glances over at him, suddenly tense. "Are you really gonna do this now? You just got here. Can't we enjoy this little bit of time that we have together without arguing about this?"

"If you'd answer my question, we wouldn't have to argue about it," he snaps back, willing her to really look at him.

She sets her menu down and looks across at him. "I don't know, Will. It's a line of work that I've always enjoyed. I like being in charge of the whole office, and working for INTERPOL is something that I'm familiar with and comfortable doing. And I thought the fresh start would be good for me. But I hate being here. I hate being so far away from everything that I know and love, and I hate that this is the first time I've seen you in two months and that we're already fighting."

Her gaze drops, and Will curses himself silently before he reaches across the table to take her hands. "I'm sorry, Emily. I'm an ass. Hey. Look at me. Please." Haltingly, she raises her eyes to meet his piercing blue ones. He holds her gaze as he tells her, "I love you."

She nods. "I know."

"You wanna get out of here?" He asks, moving out of the booth and pulling her to her feet. She nods again, and he leads her back outside to her SUV.

She drives the short distance to her apartment, and as soon as they're inside, she turns and wraps her arms around his neck, pressing her lips to his. "I love you, Will. I'm sorry it's been so difficult for us lately."

He shakes his head, taking her face in his hands. "Hey, you got nothin' to apologize for, Emily. I'm just glad we're together now."

She smiles and kisses him again, and her hands wander down his chest and come to rest on his belt, which she tugs on lightly. He chuckles, a low growl, and hoists her up so that her arms are still around his neck and her legs are wrapped around his waist before he carries her over to the couch and drops her onto it, covering her body with his as she lets out a breathless little laugh.

* * *

The next day, they wake up early and spend the day sightseeing. The London Eye is a favorite of Will's, and they go around on it three times over the course of the day. The day after is spent a little closer to home, perusing a local street fair that Emily has made a point to visit at least weekly. The following day, she finally decides to take him to her office. It's a short visit, and its end comes after Clyde Easter makes an appearance, coupled with a cryptic, "Ah. Things are starting to make much more sense now."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Will asks.

Clyde shrugs. "Nothing, Mr. LaMontagne. Only that I am beginning to understand Emily's predicament."

Emily shoots him a look and pulls Will away. "Come on. There's not much else to see."

Will follows her out, casting a last distrustful look at Easter before the doors close between them. He notices Prentiss' mood and pulls her to a stop. "Hey. You know what I noticed?"

"What?" She tilts her head and a smile tugs at one corner of her mouth.

He pulls her close, slipping his arms around her waist. "We don't have any pictures of the two of us together. And that's a problem."

She laughs. "That's true."

"So what do you say we go fix that? Maybe… get a disposable camera and spend the rest of the day using up the film? We could drop it off at one of those 24-hour developing places and get double prints—a set for me and a set for you?"

She smiles and kisses him. "That sounds great. Let's go."

* * *

Prentiss wakes up and silently rolls out of bed, pulling the bedsheet with her. She wraps it around herself, but when she moves away to start gathering her clothes, she feels resistance at the end of the sheet. She turns to free herself and sees Will holding on to the corner of the sheet, watching her with his oh-so-blue eyes. He smiles. "Where do you think you're going?"

A smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. "Shower? We need to leave for the airport in an hour."

He pulls on the sheet, and she takes a few steps toward the bed. He sits up and puts his hands on her hips. "Well, then we've got plenty of time before we have to be up and about," he tells her seriously.

She allows him to pull her into his arms and bury his face in her neck. "Well, you could join me."

He raises an eyebrow. "Well, now. That's not a bad idea."

She giggles, which is an unusual occurrence for her. "Then what are we waiting for?"

"Have I told you how beautiful you look this morning?" he asks.

She grins. "No, but that's what we were postponing the shower for. Come on," she takes his hand and pulls him into the bathroom.

After a long, luxurious shower, they barely have time to grab a quick breakfast of jam and toast before they have to rush out the door to make it to the airport. "I'll see you in a few weeks," he murmurs, brushing a lock of jet-black hair behind her ear.

She nods. "Yeah. Call me when you land, okay?"

"I will," he checks his watch. "I gotta go. Love you."

She nods and kisses him. "Love you, too." He slings his bag over his shoulder and heads for the security line, blowing her one last kiss as the rapidly-forming line behind him obscures their view.


	20. Chapter 20

Twenty

Emily shuts the door behind her and drops her keys onto the table beside the door. She presses her lips against her fingers and brushes them against the framed photograph of her and Will that's been on the table since his visit. Just then, her phone rings, and she grins and hits the "Answer" button. "Hello?"

"What happened to 'Prentiss'?" Will chuckles.

She laughs. "I knew it was you. No need to be professional when I'm talking to my boyfriend."

"Oh, good. You're still calling me your boyfriend. Good to hear you haven't met some fancy English fella and fallen for him."

"Not a chance, Cowboy. I never thought I'd say this, but there's something about that Southern Charm that no British accent can touch."

"That's good. I'll keep that in mind when I'm really missing you bad."

"Good. I wouldn't want you to forget it. Listen, um, how's JJ? I've been trying to get ahold of her."

"She's still upset. But once she's had time to work through all this, she'll be fine."

She's silent for a moment before asking. "You're sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure. You're her best friend, Emily. She just needs time to remember that."

"Okay. I kinda love you, William LaMontagne, Junior. You know that right?"

"I sure do. And I kinda love you, too, Emily Prentiss."

* * *

Henry grins widely and runs to Will's outstretched arms. "Daddy!"

Will enfolds the little boy in his arms and stands up, hugging him tightly. JJ takes a few steps forward and hands Will a bag. "All of his superhero shirts. They're the only thing he'll wear these days. I know you have a couple, but they won't last you the whole time. And I'm not exaggerating when I say they're the only thing he'll wear."

Will chuckles. "That's my boy. Who you got on today?"

Henry proudly points to his shirt. "Iron Man!"

"Excellent!" Will grins and sets his son down, then looks to JJ. "How've you been?"

"I'm fine," she shrugs. "How's Emily?"

Will's grin fades. "She's been trying to call you. She wants to sort things out. Apologize."

"Yeah? Well I don't want an apology," JJ scowls. "I want a friend who won't go behind my back with the father of my child."

Will bends down and ruffles Henry's hair. "Hey, Buddy, why don't you go put your stuff in the car and get all strapped in?" Henry nods and runs off, carrying his bag. Will straightens. "We weren't cheating on you, Jen. You broke up with me, remember? We haven't been together in almost a year."

"But before that, we were together for five years. It sure didn't take you long to get over that," she snaps.

"It took me plenty long to get over it, Jen. But I did. And from what I heard, so did you. You were dating before I was."

"Not your best friend!" she exclaims, running a hand through her hair. "Look, I have to go. I need to get to the airport. The team's waiting. I'll see you when I come to pick up Henry."

She turns on her heel and stalks to her car, and Will moves over to his, mustering a smile for his son. "Alright, so what do you want for lunch, Buddy?"

* * *

"Ugh, this show sucks," Emily sinks farther down on the couch and turns down _Smallville _so that she can hear Will better.

He chuckles. "Then why are you watching it?"

She shrugs, forgetting for a moment that he can't see her do so. "It's about Superman. All-American hero? About an hour ago, I would've killed to hear someone talk that didn't have a British accent." She pauses, raising her eyebrows. "Wow. Never thought I'd say that."

"Well, now you've heard from me and watched that crappy show. You feeling better?"

She laughs tiredly. "A little. So how's work going?"

"It's fine. It's work," he yawns. "You?"

"Same," she agrees. "And how's Henry?"

"He's great," he shifts the phone from one ear to the other and goes back to stirring the macaroni on the stove—his latest attempt at cooking. "Keeps asking about Auntie Emily. He's excited for your visit."

She hesitates. "Yeah, um, about that…"

"You're still coming, aren't you?" he asks, suddenly suspicious.

"Of course. It's just… I'm gonna have to push it back a little bit, and I can only take one week instead of two. I'm really sorry, it's just that I—"

"How much are you pushing it back?" he wants to know.

She sighs. "Just a couple weeks. I'll come the last week of November instead of the first two, is all."

"Oh. Okay. Well will you be here for Thanksgiving?"

"Unfortunately, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Britain, so no extra time off. But I've already booked my ticket. I land at four the Monday after Thanksgiving, and I'll leave on Sunday at nine a.m."

"Great. I'll be there to pick you up."


	21. Chapter 21

I'm back! Sorry for the delay! As a reward for your patience, you get two chapters today! Thank you all so much for reading and please review! =)

* * *

Twenty-One

Prentiss rolls up her magazine as she stands to get off of the plane. She pulls out her phone and turns it on, then dials Will's number. "Hey. We just landed. Yeah. Okay. No, it's fine. I'll just meet you by the baggage claim, alright? Great. Okay. Love you, too. See you in a bit." She hangs up and smiles at the flight attendant as she steps off the plane. On her way to baggage claim, she stops at a newsstand and picks up a couple of new magazines to pass the time while she waits for Will to come pick her up. He got a late start because Henry was being difficult, and there's an accident on the freeway that he's stuck in right now. Her bag comes quickly, and she carries her things over to a nearby chair and settles in to wait for Will to arrive. She flips through one magazine, then the second, then goes through the first one again and actually reads the articles.

Halfway through her second pass through the second magazine, a small body jumps in front of her and shouts, "Boo!"

She looks up and smiles at the little blond boy beaming back at her. "Henry!" She scoops him into a hug, then glances up to see Will standing back a few feet and grinning. She smiles up at him. "Hey, you."

He takes a few steps forward and helps her to her feet, still holding Henry to her tightly. They exchange a quick kiss over the little boy's head, and then Emily sets him down and picks up her purse and magazines. Will grabs her suitcase and Henry's hand and begins leading her out to the parking lot. "So what's Tom Cruise up to these days?" He asks jokingly.

She snorts. "Scarlett Johansson, apparently. Or so _Us Weekly _would have us believe."

"There a reason you're skeptical?" He teases. "Jealousy, maybe?"

She laughs out loud. "Over Tom Cruise? Please. He's good-looking, but he's batspit crazy." She glances down at Henry, who's bouncing along contentedly, completely heedless of their conversation.

Will laughs. "It's good to have you here, Emily."

She grins. "It's good to be here."

* * *

That night, Will tucks Henry in to bed and returns to the living room to find Emily waiting on the couch with two glasses of wine. She hands one glass to him and motions for him to join her on the couch, which he does. "I've missed you," he pulls her over to lean against his side and slides his free arm around her shoulders.

She sighs. "I've missed you, too." She takes his wine from him, and sets both glasses on the coffee table before she turns and leans in to kiss him.

Will slips his arms around her and pulls her closer, moaning quietly against her lips. Their tongues tangle, and she shifts so that she's straddling him. Will's tightens his hold on her and murmurs quietly, "Maybe we should move back to my room?"

She pulls away and raises her eyebrows. "With your son in the next room?"

He frowns. "You think the on the couch in the living room would be better than my room? This is just a little bit more exposed than the bedroom."

She laughs breathlessly. "Well, if you think you can be quiet…"

He chuckles and kisses her again in response. "I'll meet you back there."

She grins and saunters down the hall. Will watches her go, then quickly picks their wine glasses up and sets them on the counter beside the sink. He kicks off his shoes, then shuts out the lights and moves towards his bedroom, fumbling with the buttons on his shirt as he goes. He pushes the door open and smirks as he sees Emily stretched out on his bed in only her bra and panties. He shuts the door and quickly shucks his shirt and pants and pulls off his undershirt as he crawls onto the bed.

She slips her hand around to the back of his neck and pulls him in for a searing kiss, then moves her lips along his jaw and down his neck to his shoulder. She hesitates when she comes across the scar from the gunshot wound, then softly presses her lips against it. He tangles his fingers in her hair and pulls her head back up to meet his lips. As her hands move down to tug on the elastic in his boxers, however, they're startled apart by a shout from Henry's room.

Emily nods resignedly at Will, who shrugs his shirt back on and heads out the door. Emily grabs his undershirt from the floor and pulls it on, then moves to the dresser across the room and steps into a pair of Will's basketball shorts. She tosses the rest of the discarded clothes into the bathroom and moves out of the room to lean against Henry's doorframe.

Will is sitting on Henry's bed, holding the little boy close to him and rocking him as he murmurs softly, "It's okay. It was just a dream, Buddy. You're safe. Daddy's here. You're just fine."

When Henry's sobbing subsides, Will moves to tuck him back in, but his cries immediately grow louder and he clings to Will's neck. Emily takes a few steps forward and kneels beside the bed. "Why don't you take him in with you? I'll sleep on the couch tonight."

Will shakes his head. "You can sleep in with us. He's small."

She smiles half-heartedly. "I think that might raise more questions than we're prepared to answer right now. I'll be fine on the couch. Just go ahead. I'll see you in the morning, alright?"

Will stands, Henry still clinging to his neck, and exchanges a quick kiss with Emily. "If you're sure. Good night, honey. I'll see you in the morning."

Emily puts a hand on his cheek, then runs her other hand through Henry's hair and presses a kiss into the back of his head. "Night, Henry. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Night, Auntie Em," Henry mumbles, his head still buried in Will's neck. Emily retrieves a blanket from the hall closet, then arranges the pillows on the couch and lays down, pulling the blanket tight around her and closing her eyes.


	22. Chapter 22

Twenty-Two

Emily laughs as Henry roars, mimicking a Tyrannosaurus Rex as he chases her around the living room. Suddenly, she turns and scoops him up in her arms and falls back onto the couch, still holding him tightly. Henry squeals and laughs, squirming to escape.

Will watches them, smiling, until he hears the knock at the door and goes to answer it. Emily and Henry's game has devolved from dinosaurs to tickling, both beaming and laughing and completely unaware of the person at the door. Will pulls the door open and JJ steps inside, frowning when she sees Emily playing with her son. She turns an accusing glare on Will, who shakes his head in warning. "Don't."

She purses her lips for a moment, then calls, "Henry!"

Emily and Henry freeze, and she releases the little boy instantly. "Go to Mommy," she whispers, brushing his soft blond hair off of his forehead and giving him a quick squeeze before pushing him gently over to JJ. She stands, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and offering an uncomfortable smile. "Hey, Jayje. It's good to see you. I've been trying to get in touch, but I guess you've been busy…"

JJ leans down and tells Henry to go and get his things, which he runs off to do. She then straightens and brushes the creases out of her pants. "Yeah. I've been busy."

Emily nods. "How's work going?"

"It's going great," JJ replies. "Your replacement is working out well. Blake. She's a good agent."

"That's good," Emily smiles tightly. "I read about that last case you had. Doozy, huh?"

JJ raises her eyebrows. "Yep. It was rough."

Emily nods again, her lips pursed tightly together. Henry runs out of his room, carrying his backpack. JJ bends down to pick him up, balancing him on her hip. "You ready to go, kiddo?"

He nods, and Will leans in to hug and kiss his son and nod to JJ. "I'll see you next week, buddy."

"Bye, Daddy," Henry waves as JJ pulls the door open. "Bye, Auntie Em!"

The door shuts, and Will chuckles. "Auntie Em? That's new."

She grins and shrugs. "Yeah. Apparently, he's already rebelling against the boundaries you've set for him."

He chuckles, pulls her into his arms and sighs loudly. "So. What do you wanna do today?"

She slips out of his embrace. "I told Morgan I'd have lunch with him. You can come if you want."

"So lunch with Morgan today, a movie with Reid tonight, breakfast with Hotch and Beth tomorrow morning, coffee with Rossi at noon tomorrow, and shopping with Garcia for the rest of the day… And then all day Sunday with your mom and you leave Monday morning? We haven't had much time to ourselves this week."

She holds her hands out helplessly. "I'm sorry. I'm only here for the week and there's a lot to do. I set aside the first three days for us to spend together, but you had Henry—and that's fine. I love spending time with Henry. We just couldn't make the scheduling work this time around."

Will runs a hand through his hair. "You could stay longer. I'm sure your office will continue to run without you for a couple more days."

"Do you know how expensive it would be to change my ticket?" she asks. "Especially since I'm going out of the country."

"I'll pay for it," he offers. "Just stay with me a little while longer. I—sometimes I feel like I'm losing you, Emily. I don't like it."

"Well, I don't know what to do about that, Will," she responds, letting her breath out forcefully. "I'm sorry."

He takes her by the shoulders and looks her in the eye. "Tell me you still love me."

Her mouth opens and closes soundlessly for a moment before she asks, "You think I don't?"

He shakes his head. "Don't avoid what I'm asking you to do. Just tell me. Do you love me or not?"

"Yes," she snaps. "I wouldn't be here with you if I didn't. Why? Do you still love me?"

"Of course I do," he doesn't hesitate. "I love you, Emily. Do you understand that? I love you, and I just want to be with you, alright? Why are you making it so hard for me to do that?" He gently caresses her cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

She takes a deep breath. "I… I don't know. I'm sorry. I love you. I do." She places a hand on either side of his face and pulls him in for a hesitant kiss.


	23. Chapter 23

H'lo everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews and followers and everything! It's much appreciated! So. This chapter is kinda sad, but it'll get better, I promise! Three more chapters and an epilogue... I'm toying with the idea of writing a Harry Potter fic next... If I can get it going, that's what will be up next, but I've also started a M:I4 fic, a couple of other Avengers ones and an Outsiders one as well... We'll see which one clicks, I guess. I'd be happy to hear what y'all want to read! Thanks again for all the reviews - keep it up!

* * *

Twenty-Three

"_Hey, Emily. It's Will. Henry loved his gift. Mine was great, too. Thanks so much. Call me back, alright? Merry Christmas. I love you."_

* * *

Prentiss leans back in her desk chair and takes a deep breath. There's a knock on her office door, and she glances up, fighting the wave of nausea that rolls over her at the movement. She frowns. "Clyde. What are you doing here?"

"Just checking in to see how Christmas treated you," Clyde answers, shutting the door behind him. "And wondering whether you've got New Year's plans or not."

"Christmas was great. Sitting around my little plastic tree, listening to Christmas carols alone and video chatting with my mom. It was a real family treat. And no, I don't have plans tonight, but I don't really feel good, so I think I'm gonna stay home, enjoy the dawn of 2013 from the safety of my couch."

Clyde chuckles. "Alright. Well, if you change your mind, a few of us are going out for drinks. Give me a call."

She nods. "I will. Thanks for the invite."

Clyde pauses halfway out the door. "How's that boyfriend of yours? LaMontagne, I think?"

Emily takes a deep breath, then exhales with a whoosh. "He's fine."

"That bad, huh? Does he know you're feeling like this?"

"What are you talking about?" Emily frowns.

Clyde shakes his head. "Don't play coy, Emily. You know exactly what I mean. Don't lead him on too long. It'll hurt him too much, and you'll hate yourself if you do." He turns to go, and as soon as the door clicks shut behind him, she lurches to her feet and bolts out of her office and to the bathroom down the hall, her hand clapped firmly over her mouth. She makes it to the toilet just in time, and she violently empties the contents of her stomach into the bowl. When she's finally finished, she staggers to her feet and flushes the toilet, then turns on the sink and scoops some water into her mouth, swishes it around, and spits it back out. She heads back out to her office, grabs her purse and a few files from her desk, then heads out of the building, stopping only to let one of her agents know that she's leaving.

She spends the next couple of hours on the floor of the bathroom in her apartment, alternately retching into the toilet and leaning her head back against the wall. Eventually, she feels that the worst has passed and goes to get a water bottle from the kitchen, uses half of it to rinse her mouth out, and swallows the other half down in a few gulps. She grabs another bottle, then sinks down onto the couch in the living room and pulls out her phone. She dials a number and waits hopefully for a moment, then slumps down a little farther. "Hey, Will. It's Emily. I just… wanted to hear your voice. See how you and Henry are doing. Give me a call when you've got some time. And Happy New Year's."

* * *

"_Emily? It's me. Spencer said you've been sick, so I thought I'd see how you were feeling, but I guess I missed you again. Call me back. Love you."_

* * *

Emily stares at the phone in her hand. Her finger hovers over the "Call" button, but something makes her hesitate. She sets the phone down and paces another lap around her living room. When the nausea hits her, she moves into the bathroom and sinks down onto the ground next to the toilet. After an hour or so, it passes, and she moves out to the couch. She picks up her phone again and pauses over the "Call" button.

Clyde's words ring in her ear. _"Don't lead him on too long. It'll hurt him too much, and you'll hate yourself if you do."_

Is that what she's been doing? Leading him on? Hurting him? She loves him, but how long can they honestly keep this up? She has no intention of leaving this job—not in the foreseeable future, anyways—and Will wouldn't leave Henry for anything.

"_Don't lead him on too long… You'll hate yourself if you do."_

Before she can change her mind, she hits the "Call" button. Half a dozen rings, and then the answering machine. "You've reached William LaMontagne. Leave a message at the tone and I'll get back to you."

The beep comes too soon, and she takes a deep, shuddering breath before she begins, "Will? It's Emily. I… I wish you'd picked up. I know… we haven't talked lately. I'm sorry about that. But… I think it'll be for the best. We… We've been kidding ourselves. There's a whole ocean between us. I think it would be best for us if we… moved on. I… I didn't want to do this this way, but… if I don't do it now, I won't be able to." Her voice breaks. "I'm sorry, Will. I have to go."

She hangs up and curls up on the couch, pulling a blanket up to her chin and brushing at the tears that threaten to spill over. Her phone begins to ring, but she ignores it.

* * *

"_Emily? I know you're there. Please. Don't do this. I love you. Don't. Please."_


	24. Chapter 24

Double chapters today because I feel like it! Also because I'm ready to be done with this story and hopefully move onto the next! Thank you all again for reading and reviewing and following and favoriting - It means so much! Please, continue to do so!

* * *

Twenty-Four

Emily stares disbelievingly at the little stick in her hands. Two pink lines stare back at her. She'd begun to suspect that something was going on beyond a flu bug after a month of non-stop nausea and vomiting. She'd only picked up the test to rule it out as a possibility, not to confirm her fears. It's not that she doesn't want kids. But she's in her forties now, and she's sort of given up on the whole idea. And she doesn't think there could be a worse time for this to happen. She's newly single, across the Atlantic Ocean from the only possible candidate for the real cause of her illness, just established in her new job.

When the phone rings, she starts and drops the test into the garbage can. A name flashes on the screen, but it doesn't register, and she hits the "Answer" button unthinkingly. "Prentiss."

"Emily?"

Prentiss can't believe her ears. "JJ?"

"Hey. Look, I just… God, it sounds bad in my head. I can't imagine how it's gonna sound out loud, but… I heard about you and Will. I just wanted to see if you were okay."

Emily sinks down onto the floor and leans her head back against the bathroom door. "I'm… yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. I can't believe you called."

"I know. My timing is impeccable, too, from what I hear," JJ laughs self-consciously. "I've been thinking about calling you for the last month or so, and then you and Will… well, I just don't want you to think I called to gloat or anything."

Emily shakes her head even though she knows JJ can't see it. "No, of course not. What… what've you been up to?"

"Work," JJ chuckles. "You know how it is. Between work and Henry, I have no time for anything else."

"I do know how that is. But you've always been able to handle work and Henry and a social life, too, and for that I've always been wildly jealous of you," Emily laughs.

JJ snorts. "You're jealous of nothing, I'm telling you. Oh, hey. Henry wants to say hi to 'Auntie Em.' Speaking of which, when did you become a character from The Wizard of Oz?"

Emily smiles. "Beats me. But it's cute. Put him on!"

"Auntie Em?" Henry's voice pipes up over the phone.

Emily brightens. "Henry? Hey! How's my favorite little guy?"

"When you come see me and Daddy?" he wants to know.

"…I'm gonna try to come see you as soon as I can, sweetie. But it might not be for awhile," she sighs.

"Oh."

"But I do want to talk to you soon, okay?"

"Okay."

There's a pause, and then it's JJ's voice back on the other end of the line. "Hey. Me again." Just then, the nausea returns in full force, and Emily moans out loud. "What's wrong?" JJ's tone is suddenly worried.

"Nothing. It's nothing. I just, um, I have to go. Call me later, though, okay?"

"Um, yeah. Yeah. I'll talk to you later," JJ hangs up, puzzled.

Emily drops her phone onto the counter and sinks to the ground beside the toilet, readying herself for another bout of sickness.

* * *

Prentiss nods and thanks the doctor, accepting the pamphlets and bag of prenatal vitamins from the nurse as she heads out of the office. She had left work early to stop at the doctor's office and have the pregnancy test results confirmed. Which they were. Of course. Shit.

So now she's faced with a whole litany of new decisions. She won't get rid of the baby—she may never have the chance to be a mother again. And the one abortion had been hell—she doesn't think she can handle it again. But it's also Will's baby. He'll need to know. And he'll want her and the baby to be closer to him. She knows him, knows what he'll want. But what she doesn't know is whether or not she'll be able to handle being near him again.

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.


	25. Chapter 25

Twenty-Five

Will flicks through TV channels mindlessly, waiting for JJ to stop by with Henry. It's been a miserable two months since Emily left that god-awful message on his machine. He hasn't erased it yet, though, because sometimes he's consumed with the need to hear her voice. Doesn't matter anyways; since Emily left, pretty much his only friend has been Reid—and that's only because Austin broke up with him and moved back to Atlanta not too long after Emily took the job in London.

A knock on the door. He turns the TV off and moves to the door, pulling it open with a grin. "There's my boy!"

Henry flies into his arms. "Daddy!"

Will holds the little boy tightly and smiles at JJ as she hands him Henry's little "Thomas the Tank Engine" backpack. "Thanks."

She nods, smiling at the sight. "No problem. He couldn't wait to get here. See you next week?"

Will sets Henry down. "Have you spoken to Emily?"

"Auntie Em?" Henry asks.

Will crouches down next to his son. "Why don't you go put your pack in your room, Buddy?"

Henry scampers off and Will stands again. "Have you?"

JJ nods. "A couple times. She sounds miserable."

"Why?" he frowns.

She shrugs. "I don't know. It's just a guess."

"It's not just a guess. You're a profiler, Jennifer. Tell me what you think." She still doesn't answer, and he crosses his arms while he waits. "I got all day, Jen."

She sighs. "If I had to guess, I'd say she's still in love with you."

He hadn't expected that. "But… she broke up with me."

JJ chuckles. "You know, funnily enough, the people who did the breaking-up are usually the ones who have the hardest time moving on."

He shakes his head. "I wouldn't know. Another funny thing is that in both of the serious relationships I've been in, I was the one who got dumped."

"It's true, though."

"But not for you," he runs a hand through his hair. "You were dating like, weeks after we broke up."

She raises her eyebrows. "Dating doesn't necessarily imply moving on."

Now he's very confused. "And now? What about the guy you're dating now?"

She grins. "He's great. Thanks for asking." She checks her watch. "I have to go. I'll see you next week." She saunters down the hall, calling a, "Bye, Henry!" over her shoulder as she goes.

Will shuts the door behind him, shaking his head. "Henry! What do you want for dinner?"

"Chicken Nuggets!"

* * *

Emily shuffles through the stack of papers on her desk, pulls out a consultation request, and begins reading through it.

An hour later, she straightens up her desk, slings her purse over her shoulder, and heads for the door, nodding at the last agent in the office. "See ya, Fielding."

She climbs into her Land Rover and heads home. When she gets to her apartment building, she grabs her mail and heads up the stairs, tossing it all onto the table by the front door as she passes it. An envelope falls to the floor, and as she stoops to pick it up, she notices that something has fallen behind the table and up against the wall. She reaches for it and realizes that it's a photo of her and Will from the night before he'd left London.

* * *

"_Hey! There's still one more picture left on this!" Emily exclaims, examining the disposable camera on the bedside table. _

"_Well, use it up," Will grins, stripping off his shirt as he prepares to crawl into bed. _

_She moves across the room and he pulls her close against his side. She holds the camera up and points it at them, and he turns to press a kiss into her cheek just as she snaps the picture, laughing._

* * *

Emily examines the picture, and as her eyes come to rest on Will, she feels a slight fluttering in her stomach. Her hand flies to her stomach and she stares in wonder as she feels her child move for the first time.

After a few moments, it stops, but when she glances back down at the picture, it begins again almost immediately. After a few moments, she gasps, then croons, "That's right. That's your daddy." The baby stirs again, and Emily drops the picture and stands. "Yeah. We should go see him. Let's do that."

* * *

"_She's still in love with you."_

Will hasn't been able to stop thinking about Emily since that damned confusing conversation with JJ. Was she right? In his experience, she's not often wrong, being a profiler and all. But Emily… she broke up with him. Why would she have done that if she still loved him? Yeah, their relationship had been hard, but Emily wasn't the type to give up.

Still, she hadn't really given a good reason for the break-up. And she hadn't answered any of his calls since then. If nothing, else, he deserved an explanation—even after two months. And if she wouldn't answer his calls, she'd have to deal with him in person. He stands, goes back to his room, and quickly packs a bag.

* * *

Please Review!


	26. Chapter 26

This is the last chapter! Next week the epilogue! Thanks to everyone for sticking with me! Please review!

* * *

Twenty-Six

Will enters the airport and heads for the nearest airline counter. "When's the next flight to London?" he asks.

The woman checks the computer, then replies, "In an hour."

"Great. Can I get a ticket for that flight?"

"Yes, sir. I'll just need to see your passport."

* * *

Emily exits the plane and slings her bag over her shoulder. She hurries through the halls and down the stairs. She rushes past the front desk, out the front doors, and into the parking lot.

* * *

Will reaches into his backpack and shuffles through it, searching for his passport, then begins to panic as he realizes he left it on the kitchen table. "I… I don't have it. I'll be right back."

He runs out the door and to his car, and speeds back to his apartment.

* * *

The cab comes to a halt in front of Will's apartment building and Emily heads inside, turning briefly to toss a few bills at the driver. She fidgets impatiently in the elevator, and practically trips on the way down the hall to his apartment. She knocks on the door, her heart in her throat. There's no answer, so pulls out her phone. She dials Will's number, but there's no answer. She sinks to the ground beside the door to wait. She begins to murmur to herself, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm pregnant, and that it's yours, and that I'm keeping it. One sentence. You can do this, Emily. It's easy. One sentence. That's all. That's all you came to say."

* * *

Will approaches his apartment, fumbling in his pocket for his keys. He finally grabs them and glances up, then freezes. "Emily?"

She stands, her mouth open but no sound coming out. Eventually, she manages, "Will."

He moves toward her, stopping when they're only inches away from each other. "What're you doing here?"

"I… I needed to see you," she murmurs, tucking an imaginary strand of hair behind her ear.

Will frowns. "Why?"

She takes a deep breath, then finds his eyes, pulling strength from him as she had done a number of times before. "Because… I… love you."

Will sighs, then slips his arms around her and pulls her close, burying his face in her hair. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you, too."

As she presses herself closer to him, he feels a slight bulge pressing against him and moves away, frowning. He places a hand on her stomach and jumps as something moves beneath his hand. He looks at her, alarmed. "What'd you have for lunch today?"

She laughs nervously. "Well, there's something else I came to tell you." She takes his hands in hers and places both of them on her just-beginning-to-swell stomach. "I—I mean, we—are… we're… having… a baby."

Will stares at her in disbelief for a moment, then moves his hands across her belly until he feels the same slight stirring as before. He sinks to his knees and stares at her stomach for a long time. Eventually, she chuckles uncomfortably and says, "Unless you have x-ray vision, all you're ever going to see there is my shirt. But if I'd known you'd find it so fascinating, I'd have worn something with a pattern instead of the plain white."

Still not saying anything, Will slowly leans forward and presses a kiss onto her belly, then rises and places a hand on her cheek. He gently pulls her in for a kiss, then wraps his arms around her. "I think you'd better come inside."

She smiles, relieved. "That's not actually what I came to say, but I'm glad it went over so well."

He chuckles and unlocks the door, grasping her hand in his and pulling her inside.


	27. Epilogue

Well, this is the end... of this story! Thank you all SO MUCH for reading and reviewing - 112 as I'm about to post this chapter - your feedback has meant so much to me. I'm kind of working on a Harry Potter Fic right now... But the beginning is coming kinda slow, so we'll just see how that goes... I apologize if there's nothing from me for a little while, but I'll get something up as soon as I can! If y'all have any opinions or ideas of what you'd like to read, leave a review or message me and let me know so I can see if it's something I might want to do! Once again, thank you all so much for your feedback, and for all the favorites and follows and everything - I love it all!

* * *

Epilogue

Emily beams as she carries the cake into the dining room. "Happy birthday to you," she begins, and everyone in the room joins in, "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Katie! Happy birthday to you!"

The little girl at the head of the table squeals with excitement as Emily sets the beautiful white Daisy Duck-themed cake in front of her—Garcia's most recent obsession is cake-decorating. Emily grins and gives her daughter a big smooch on the side of her head. "Happy Birthday, Katie-Kat! Blow out the candles, sweetie!"

As Katie releases a gust of air and saliva over the cake, Will slips behind Emily and slides an arm around her waist. He kisses her softly on the cheek, and she turns to smile at him. "You got the other cake, right?"

She nods. "It's on the counter, ready to be cut."

"Good, because I don't think she missed any of that cake with her slobber," he teases. Emily laughs.

"Hey! Mom and Dad with the Birthday Girl!" JJ calls, brandishing a camera.

Will moves around to Katie's other side and leans down beside his newly-two-year-old daughter. "Cheese, baby!" Emily leans down next to Katie, who glances up and beams at the camera just long enough for JJ to snap the picture. Just as JJ sets the camera down, Katie's hand smashes into the cake and Will and Emily cry simultaneously, "No!" then begin to laugh.

Garcia smacks her forehead with the palm of her hand, then begins to laugh as the rest of the room does. Katie finds her hand and begins sucking on it, delighted to find that her fingers now taste of frosting. Emily smiles and announces, "Not to worry, I've got another cake in the kitchen, and I think I took about a dozen pictures of that one before the party started. Be right back with everyone's cake!"

"I'll help you," JJ volunteers, following her into the kitchen.

"Me too!" Garcia tails them. "So how's school going?" she asks Emily.

Emily shrugs. "It's great. I finish my Ph.D. in six weeks and being able to stay home with Katie is great. Next year when she starts preschool, I'll actually be able to work instead of just consulting, and Rossi said he's passed my name to a few people and I could actually be counseling and testifying as a professional witness within 18 months."

"That's so great! I'm so proud of you, Em!" Garcia grins. "And this house is so beautiful. You guys are doing really well."

"We are," Emily nods. "I think after two years we're finally starting to settle into this more domestic kind of life," she chuckles.

"I gotta say, Emily, it's unfair that Will and I both have blue eyes and Henry's are brown, and your eyes are brown and yet Katie has Will's blue eyes," JJ says, holding a plate out for Emily to put a slice of cake onto.

Emily shrugs. "I have no idea how it happened, but I'm glad. Every day I wonder how I got such a beautiful daughter. I'm still stumped."

Garcia laughs. "Well, at least she got your hair. You should've named her Snow White—I swear. She's all pale and with the black hair and the pretty blue eyes… She's so pretty, Em!"

Emily grins. "I know. Although I don't think Snow White is a valid name for the child of someone who's not a fairy tale queen or a celebrity."

Will ducks into the room. Garcia beams at him. "Hey, Will! We were just talking about what a beautiful daughter you have."

Will chuckles. "Isn't she though? Just like her Momma. Anyways, I just came to see if you ladies wanted any help passing out cake."

"Excellent! Yes!" Garcia cuts off any response from Emily or JJ and hands him two plates of cake and shoos him out. "Thanks, Will!"

* * *

That night, Emily quietly shuts the bedroom door behind her. "She's finally asleep. I think she had too much cake, ice cream, and attention today." She changes into a tank top and shorts as she talks, then pulls her hair into a ponytail.

Will laughs, emerging from the bathroom. "But we don't have to do it again for another year. You did great though. Planned an awesome party. Everything went off without a hitch. You're getting better."

She rolls her eyes. "Shut up about last year already. I just wasn't expecting her to push the cake off of the table in her excitement. I didn't even know a one-year-old could be that strong."

He chuckles and moves toward the dresser, stopping to give her a kiss. "I was giving you a compliment." He retrieves a t-shirt out of the dresser drawer and pulls it on, then pauses. "Oh, by the way, I, uh, got you something."

Emily's eyebrows furrow. "Why? It's not my birthday."

"I know," he smiles softly. "It's not exactly a birthday present."

"Oh," she purses her lips. "What is it?"

He turns, holding his left hand behind his back. "Come here." She takes a few tentative steps toward him, and he slips his free arm around her waist and pulls her close. She lets out an involuntary giggle. He takes a deep breath and says, "I love you, Emily. You know that right?"

She nods. "I love you, too."

He smiles. "That's good. Because… This present is sort of conditional."

She raises her eyebrows. "Oh, really? On what?"

"On whether or not you say yes." He moves his hand out from behind his back, revealing a small, velvet box.

She gasps, and he releases her to open the lid. A gold band with a sparkling princess-cut diamond, flanked by an emerald-cut diamond on either side glints up at her. "Emily Prentiss, will you marry me?"

Emily looks up at Will, her eyes bright. She laughs, then replies, "Yes. Yes I will."

His lips descend onto hers, and she presses herself tightly against him. When they finally pull away, he slides the ring onto her finger and brings her hand up to his lips for a soft kiss. "Thank God. That could've turned out really awkward."

She giggles. "Woulda coulda shoulda, Will. Woulda coulda shoulda."

He chuckles and begins moving toward the bed, his arms still wrapped around her. "Let's go to bed, Mrs. LaMontagne."

She laughs. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Mr. Prentiss." He makes a face, and she reaches up to kiss him again. "Let's just start by going to bed."

He nods. "That sounds perfect." They move to each side of the bed and climb under the covers. Emily snuggles up against Will, and he slips his arms around her, pulling her even closer. "Good night."

She sighs contentedly. "Good night, Will. Love you."

"Love you, too."


End file.
